Was anyone else disappointed that these personality elections weren’t decided Tuesday? With this runoff business we had to endure another two days of: “Hey! Have you voted today? Well you should totes vote for _____!”
And then the election results were announced, and there was a sudden outpour of emotion that was stunning. Girls bawling with joy or disappointment, guys peering around aimlessly or high-fiving with orange-slice smiles.
There’s something strange about this culture. This culture where I am told to vote for people not based on their merits or what they represent but because a whole bunch of folks have surrounded me on the sidewalk and are shouting at me to support one gentleman or lady over another.
The Ole Miss Homecoming Queen, Mr. Ole Miss and Miss Ole Miss should represent more to the Ole Miss community than just a pure popularity contest. I feel as though we ought to elect people who don’t just have the highest GPA in their fraternity or sorority, but instead we should consider people who contribute to Ole Miss and Oxford the most.
If anything, I believe that the Creed Week Award means much more than the aforementioned titles. At least that one has some criteria. What is the criteria to be Mr./Miss Ole Miss or the Ole Miss Homecoming Queen? Very little. The criteria to run for Mr./Miss Ole Miss is a 3.0 GPA, 60 semester hours and 10 hours of community service in the year before the election. The homecoming queen only has to have a 2.0 GPA.
Shouldn’t we ask for more from the people that carry the title of our university? Shouldn’t we ask what their contributions have been? Ten hours of community service within a year isn’t exactly impressive. The honors college requires its students to do 10 hours per semester.
All I ask is that before we vote for somebody, we ask who they are. Are you just clicking a name because someone told you to? Or are you picking someone because they’re the best choice. It’s something to consider within personality elections and in the future, as well.
Phil McCausland is an English senior from Carlisle, Pa. Follow him on Twitter @phillmccausland.
