The Daily Mississippian

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DailyMississippian The

Thursday, February 23, 2012

thedmonline.com

Vol. 100 No. 254

Personality elections attract more student votes than ASB general elections BY KELLS JOHNSON krjohn2@olemiss.edu

Only 3,256 students voted in the Associated Student Body elections this semester, and while it is a slight increase from last spring, some Ole Miss students don’t feel the need to vote. On Tuesday, the University of Mississippi announced its elected ASB members for the 201213 school year. In the fall, 4,964 students voted in the personality elections, and only 3,019 students voted in the ASB general elections of Spring 2011. ASB attorney general Evan Kirkham said this spring’s general elections have helped change the on-campus perception of spring elections. “Although voter turnout was lower than last fall’s personality elections, numbers were up from the 2011 Spring general,” he said. Even though the number is up, the percentage of the student body actually voting in elections is close, based on statistics from the university regarding enrollment numbers from the fall of the respective years. Based on a 2011 Fall enrollment of 16,586 for the Oxford campus, 19.63 percent of the student body voted in Tuesday’s election. Based on those same numbers, 29.92 percent of the student body voted in the fall’s personality elections. Based on a Fall 2010 enrollment of 15,505 for the Oxford campus, 19.47 percent of the student body voted in the Spring 2011 ASB elections. This semester’s elections were the first time in history that campaign volunteers were directed

PHILLIP WALLER | The Daily Mississippian

Students gather in front of the Lyceum for election results Tuesday night. Today there will be a runoff between Mary Margaret Johnson and Emmalee Rainey for the vice president position.

to campaign from campaign zones, according to Kirkham. “Establishing formal campaign zones was a policy that I promised during the debates and in my platform for attorney general last fall,” he said. “So far I have only heard positive responses regarding the policy from both candidates and students.” Kirkham said he thought everything went well so far this week. “Tuesday’s election ran

smoothly because of the mutual respect the candidates had for one another, creating an upbeat atmosphere and a positive image of the Associated Student Body on campus,” Kirkham said. “Of course nothing could have been accomplished without the hard work of my Elections Commission.” Some students like LaKendra Lewis, a chemistry junior, feel voting in student elections is extremely important.

“I voted because I support change,” she said. “I believe that the individuals I voted for will get the job done.” Popular events like the personality and general elections happen every year, but several students decide note to vote in student elections because they feel it is unimportant or unnecessary. “I think it’s amazing that we have our very first African American female president, but I don’t always take student gov-

ernment very seriously,” said freshman Amanda Simpson. “I wish they would address even more issues that the student body may have more often.” In the past year, ASB has been able to offer free scantrons and has been pushing for a smokefree campus. “Students should have a voice in what this campus needs, and I feel our newly elected president will definitely meet those needs,” freshman English major Ja’killya Mhoon said.

ASB vice presidential slot to be decided tonight BY JACOB BATTE thedmnews@gmail.com

Five of the six elected positions for the Associated Student Body government were announced Tuesday night, but one is still not decided. That announcement will come tonight. Emmalee Rainey and Mary Margaret Johnson will participate in the run-off for ASB vice president. Rainey took home the most votes Tuesday with 1,403, or 44.1 percent, while Mary Margaret Johnson received 1,085 votes, or 33.8 percent. Samuel McKay was a third candidate; however, he only

received 21.3 percent of the vote, with 684 votes. Johnson said she had a mixed reaction when she heard the results. “We knew it was coming, but it was very surprising,” she said. Johnson said despite her recent lack of sleep, she loves campaigning. “I think the whole process is important,” she said. “At the same time I’ve had an outpouring of support and it has uplifted my spirit more than you can imagine.” Rainey said she wasn’t surprised by the outcome. “I knew running a campaign against two other very

qualified candidates that there would probably be a run-off,” she said. “But (tonight) is going to be wide open.” Voting will be similar to Tuesday’s elections. Students can log on to MyOleMiss from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and select Spring Elections. The results will be announced at 5:45 p.m. in front of the Lyceum. Rainey said regardless of who wins, she believes the Senate will be in good hands. “I believe in our Senate, and I think we’ll have a strong Senate either way,” she said. A total of 3,256 students voted in Tuesday’s general election.

RIGHT: Mary Margaret Johnson LEFT: Emmalee Rainey


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