2013 - 2014 OLE MISS PERSONALITY ELECTION GUIDE
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The Daily
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Mississippian
Vol. 102, No. 21
The Student Newspaper of The University Of Mississippi | Serving Ole Miss and Oxford since 1911
Show me the money: ASB campaigning at Ole Miss By Mara Joffe
mmjoffe@go.olemiss.edu
In the midst of today’s University of Mississippi homecoming elections, you may know for whom you’re voting, but do you know how much money your candidates spent to earn your vote? “There’s a substantial financial obligation that you’re committing to when you run,” said Courtney Pearson, last year’s homecoming queen. “You want to spend the least amount of money but still have the most effective campaign that you can.” Personality elections at Ole Miss come with a cost determined by the ASB. Attorney General Rob Pillow said the budget this year for Miss Ole Miss, Mr. Ole Miss (formerly “Colonel Reb”) and homecoming queen is $600. Homecoming maid candidates must run their campaigns solely by word of mouth. Doug Odom, former Colonel Reb candidate, knows the importance of the budget and the democratic process of campus elections. “Flyers, stickers, a sign in front of the Union all obviously cost money,” Odom said. “You definitely have to budget accordingly. The beauty of each election
is that any student, regardless of race or ethnicity, Greek or independent, can run for a position as long as they meet the minimum requirements.” But what if a student meets the minimum requirements and can’t afford to campaign? “If you want to run and you can’t afford to run, it is a little heartbreaking,” she said. “You could have some very qualified and exceptional people that if they can’t afford to run, it does put them at a disadvantage.” Both Pearson and Odom funded their campaigns personally, while other candidates such as ASB President Gregory Alston received additional funding from organizations such as fraternities, sororities and other private entities for his presidential campaign. While Alston referred to his fraternity as “a huge help,” he encouraged students to run regardless of the source of their campaign funding. “It definitely helps to have an organization backing you, but I don’t think that will make or break you,” he said. “If you’re not in an organization, so what? I think you should still run.” According to Pearson, a candidate’s financial worries far exceed the initial, expected spending. Both Pearson and Alston
FILE PHOTO (THOMAS GRANING) | The Daily Mississippian
Last year’s Homecoming Queen Courtney Pearson waves to last year’s Homecoming parade crowd.
said that the candidate is held responsible if any student places a candidate’s sticker in a noncampaigning zone such as the Union or on a stop sign, which violates ASB campaigning regulations. These violations result in budgetary fines that can ultimately cost a candidate money and even an election. “It’s a disqualifying offense to go over budget,” Pearson said. Candidates must turn in receipts for nearly every campaign expense, including donated
items. “If you’re using it in your campaign, you have to put it in your budget form,” Pearson said. “In the candidate’s expense voucher (for a campaign sign), they should have paint, they should have wood, they should have nails, they should have the sandbags that are holding the thing down. Anything that goes into the sign has to be accounted for.” Despite rules and costs, Odom said the ASB did a great job guiding candidates in their cam-
paigns last year. With the weight of these campaign responsibilities in mind, Pearson said voters can now have a better idea of the work that the election process entails. “That’s how much your candidate is putting into this,” she said. “It’s a tremendous skill in terms of being able to manage all of these people and organize a campaign. I think candidates would love for people to appreciate that and get out there and vote.”
Ole Miss rated in the top 10 safest college campuses By John Crawford Lampton jclawton@go.olemiss.edu
KATIE WILLIAMSON | The Daily Mississippian
UPD officers help make the univeristy one of the country’s safest campuses.
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The University-Oxford community recently scored high marks in polls concerned with a matter more critical than mere beauty: safety. However, although Collegesafe.com recently ranked Ole Miss as the ninth safest campus in the nation, recent reports of violent crimes conflict with this perception. UPD records indicate that in both 2010 and 2011, one robbery was reported per year. This semester, one armed robbery
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has already been reported. In the same years respectively, 49 and 46 burglaries were reported. Numbers of robberies and burglaries reported on campus have increased since 2009, when 28 burglaries and no robberies were reported. From Aug. 26 to Sept. 19 this year, UPD has received 32 reports of larceny, of which seven were for more than $500, 15 reports of drugs, seven reports of assault and one report of weapons. Campus Walk Apartments have been the backdrop of multiple crimes committed this
semester, with a strong-arm robbery having taken place on Aug. 7, a burglary and assault and act of vandalism that caused $500 worth of damage on Aug. 16. Senior art major Sam Malott was a victim of a car burglary last year on South 18th Street, in which her sunglasses, purse, and iPad were stolen. Despite her past and the recent crimes around campus, Malott still believes Ole Miss is as safe as ever. “I love Ole Miss and would never change my opinion of the place, regardless of a robbery or not,” Malott said. “It’s my home.”
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