Rene White opens up about her year serving as Miss Bethune-Cookman University

By Shay Myrthll Editor

In spring 2022, Maryland resident Rene White was elected Miss Bethune-Cookman University. The primary duty of said titleholder is to be an ambassador for B-CU. White approached her role with zeal but shortly after class started in the fall, things took a turn. She and several other members of the “Royal Court” found themselves at odds with their new advisers. The reasons still are unclear.

There was no coronation, which is traditionally held in the fall, for White and other members of the court including Tyler Kelly, who had been elected Mr. B-CU. According to White, several members of the court, were stripped of their titles. She said that she retained an attorney at one point, to represent her.

The VOICE reached out to several administrators close to the situation during the school year for answers. We finally received a “No Comment at this time” response this spring.

Members of the Mary McLeod Bethune National Alumni Association staged a coronation for White and Kelly this spring. The group is not affiliated with the university and the event took place off campus.

As she prepared to graduate in May 2023, White sat down with VOICE Editor Shay Mrythil for a Q&A to talk about the year that almost was.

Why did you want to become Miss B-CU?

“Honestly, I like to say that it happened by accident. I’m a student reporter here on campus and I was interviewing Mr. B-CU, Tyler Kelly and the current SGA President, Wilbert Stubbs. And, they suggested that I run for the role based off how I carry myself. I decided to run for the underrepresented. I did it for the students who are just like me, those who feel like just because they‘re not in a leadership role their story doesn’t mean anything. You don’t have to be Greek or somebody important on campus to run for these roles and to see the change happening in the community.”

What was your favorite part about being Miss B-CU?

“My favorite part about being Miss B-CU would definitely be campaign week because not only was it stressful, but I really got to see my friends and family coming to support me. Not to say that they didn’t support me before, but it was great to see, like wow! All these people believe in my vision and where I want to take B-CU’s community. They were willing to pour into me. I had some highs and some lows of campaign week, but I enjoyed every little bit of it.”

• What was your least favorite part about being Miss B-CU?

“I think my least favorite part about being Miss B-CU would have been working with the new administration. In the beginning we were working with Mr. O’Neil. He took us to the conference in New Orleans and it was amazing. That’s when I got my first tastes of what it’s like to really be a queen. I was representing the school without really representing the school. I enjoyed myself but when we came back to school and made the switch in leadership, things went downhill, and it was a lot of stress. I didn’t come into this role thinking it was going to be easy, but I just felt like it was too much going on.”

• If you could go back and give yourself some advice on how you could do better, what would you tell yourself?

“I would tell myself to not to take everything so seriously, I was so serious about my job at the time. And, I was so serious about making a change on campus and having my voice and the voice of the students be heard that I got in my own way.

I didn’t really enjoy the process. I wish I would have enjoyed every little moment that I had-- good or bad.”

• What are the duties of a queen?

“As queen I would go and represent the university when it came down to events and programming. We also did recruitment. I went to a lot of recruiting events. When the semester started back up, I was able to go to Miami and recruit students, introducing them to B-CU’s culture. I was also tasked with picking out the dresses and the concepts for the court. That was in my contract. I was authorized to pick out concepts, picked what the girls would look like. I also put on events to get students involved, different things that would shift the nature of the community. I was an ambassador for the university.”

• What are some things you didn’t agree with that came with the crown?

“Some things that I would say I didn’t necessarily agree with when it came to the crown would be the expectation that people have of you. They forget that you’re an individual, they forget that you’re human---

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White

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Being in a certain role, yes you are held to a higher standard. But people forget that there’s a person behind the crown. Even though you represent the school, you do have individual qualities that make you, you. That’s the reason why people vote for you--your individual qualities and what you can bring to the campus. I didn’t agree how people wanted you to act a certain way. A lot of the older folks had a problem with that. They want you to act prim and proper every day. That shouldn’t be the case. We are selling a false dream if you have someone trying to be something that they’re not. That defeats the purpose of being an ambassador for the university.”

• Did you enjoy being Miss B-CU? “I did. It’s an experience that I think that every woman should experience. It taught me so much. It taught me that not everybody is your friend or in your corner. But it also taught me to hold my own ground. It taught me how to remain confident within myself, even when people around me weren’t confident in me. It forced me to realize that the way people see you isn’t really who you are as a person. I say thank you to the role. It really helped me with my profession- alism. I learned how to walk and move professionally. I’m just sad that I didn’t really get the chance to go into the role and do the things that I set out to do.”

• Would you go through the process again?

“Honestly, yes and no. Because yes, I had good parts, I learned a lot and I networked with a lot of different people. Even though I’m not in the role, I’m still in the role. Wherever I go people are always watching me. The connections that I made with other queens like Miss Howard University and Miss FAMU were beneficial. I would say no because I don’t feel like the school supported me and my message and it bothered them that I wasn’t the typical queen. A lot of people expect to be Greek or to change because of the crown, but I was just myself. They tried to push this narrative like you’re supposed to fit inside this box. Your supposed to walk with your grace, but it’s hard when you have an administration that is pushing you to be something that you’re not, it defeats the purpose. The queen is supposed to be the image for the young women on campus, but how are you supposed to be the image if they can’t relate to you?”

• What advice do you have for anyone that might seek the role in the future?

“Don’t let the role make you. You make the role because it’s hard for you to separate yourself from how other people want you to be or act. Don’t let the title shake you or stop you from being humble. I hope that the next Miss B-CU keeps the students at the forefront of her vision. It can be hard to separate what you want to do for the student’s vs. all the things you have to live up to. At the end of the day, you’re in the role so people can not only experience your impact but feel it as well”.

• Did you accomplish any of your goals while wearing the crown?

“I wasn’t given the chance to implement a lot of my initiatives. I did organize an event where I introduced appreciation for different religions. There are students here who aren’t necessarily a part of the Christian faith. During the hurricane season, students were able to post quotes from their specific Bible. Students were quoting the Torah and the Quran for example, and I thought that was so beautiful because that’s a piece of B-CU that we don’t see. One of my biggest things was to push inclusivity, if I was given the chance, the culture at B-CU would have shifted.” ing pages. It contains some of the biggest stories we published this school year. The full papers can be found at www.issuu. com.

We hope you enjoy this look back. Also, check us out during the school year at www.issuu.com. Besides, the VOICE, you also can find copies of McLeod Magazine, our sister publication that we published in the fall and the spring.