The Associated Student Body Senate passed a bill Tuesday night, officially adopting the title “Mr. Ole Miss” to replace the previous title “Colonel Reb.”
“Colonel Reb” was ruled unconstitutional by the ASB Judicial Council March 25 under the previous administration, and the current ASB Senate had been attempting to change the title since April 16. The bill passed with 35 yeas, zero nays and 10 abstentions, and went into effect immediately upon passing.
“I’m excited that we can move on and let these candidates prepare (for the personality election),” said Morgan Gregory, ASB vice president and president of the Senate. “All the organizations we had talked to before (the vote) were for it and were supportive.”
The renaming process received campus-wide attention over the past several months. The Senate attempted to pass an identical bill on April 16. That bill was tabled until the Senate’s next meeting on April 30, which was the last Senate meeting of the 2012-13 school year. After three hours of debate April 30, the Senate voted to kill the bill and wait until the fall semester to make a solid decision.
Last night’s meeting was the Senate’s first meeting of the semester. Gregory said timing issues prompted the Senate to act quickly. The ASB Constitution and Codes state that fall personality elections require five weeks of open campaigning. Gregory also sought a two-week grace period for candidates to prepare for the official campaign.
Gregory told The DM last week that ASB senators had been seeking additional student input over the summer.
“I think how smoothly (tonight) went just shows how prepared all the senators were for (the vote),” Gregory said last night. “They had talked to people and talked to each other and really made sure that we had an accurate and all-encompassing representation and voice.”
After the meeting concluded, senators expressed their relief with the decision, which took more than four months to reach.
“I’m very happy with ‘Mr. Ole Miss,’” At-Large ASB Senator Pearce Crosland said. “I think if (the students) can’t have ‘Colonel Reb,’ I think (‘Mr. Ole Miss’) is what they prefer.”
Adam Ganucheau contributed to this article.
