Campaigns start

Beginning promptly at 12:01 a.m. Monday morning, ladies vying for the positions of Miss Southern University and class queens covered the campus with posters, flyers and stickers asking for students’ vote for the 2006 elections.
Tiffany Minor, a junior nursing major from Baton Rouge is running for the title of Miss Southern and she said ideally, she is the candidate of choice.
“I feel that as a Baton Rouge native, I will have a greater effect on the Southern University campus and the community,” Minor said.
Another Miss Southern candidate, Ashley Ransom, a junior urban forestry major from Olathe, KS said she believes her originality is the key to winning.
“I believe Miss Southern needs to be more than a pretty face,” Ransom said. “I want to implement community service projects at elementary schools-I want to tell young students that no time is to early to talk about higher education.”
Ransom said during her tenure as Miss Junior, she implemented a student organization, a feat she said no other queen has done.
“Unlike the other candidates, I have experience as Miss Junior. I created a group called Students Uplifting Students. We participated in a fundraiser that collected canned goods for needy families. I was the first class queen to create a community service group,” she said.
For Deanna Bynog, her decision to be an active part of Miss Southern candidate Shakeila Sweazie’s campaign was an easy choice.
“She (Sweazie) is a very hard working and dedicated person,” said Bynog, a junior biology major from Alexandria, who is acting as Sweazie’s campaign manager. “She has held the positions of Miss Freshmen, senator her sophomore year and vice president of her junior class. I saw how dedicated she was in those positions and I felt she could make more positive and better changes as Miss Southern.”
Reigning Miss Southern for the 2005-2006 academic year, Sharika King, a senior biology major from Alexandria offered advice to Miss Southern candidates.
“Make sure you run a clean campaign, start every morning off with prayer and eat three good meals,” King said. “You are going to need all the energy you can get.”
King said Miss Southern should personify kindness, spirituality and the ability to bring a lot of fresh ideas to the table.
Although a pretty face has long been the focus of pageants, Dontray Tatum, a sophomore political science major from Columbia and campaign manager for Miss Junior candidate Lorene Wiley, said he wants voters to notice Wiley’s ability to be a role model for her class.
“She (Wiley) is an honor student. Lorene represents everything a student should embody. She’s academically and socially involved-from the Dean’s List to being a former cheerleader,” Tatum said. Regardless of who wins, the candidates agree, being a successful Miss Southern requires more than good looks.
“Miss Southern should have an outgoing personality, approachable, dedicated and committed to the students at Southern University,” Minor said.