SGA Senate meeting focus on Miss SU pageant, salaries

The Student Government Association Senators held their first senate meeting on February 5 to discuss plans and new petitions for the spring semester.
The most important issue of the night was the petition by SGA president Avery Wilson to add judges to the Miss Southern University Pageant to declare a first, second and third place winner. The contestants who place will receive a certain percentage of votes that will be added to the total number of popular votes that candidate receives. The percentage of votes the winner will receive will be 12 percent of an estimated 1800 students that attend the university.
According to Wilson, making the pageant into a contest will help prepare the winner of the Miss SU crown if she chooses to attend the Miss HBCU Pageant.
“This is designed to help Miss SU place higher in the Miss HBCU pageant. I feel that Miss SU is not fully prepared for the pageant,” said Wilson.
Among the opposition to the passing of the bill was current Miss SU Krystal Pugh.
“I think if Miss SU is to be judged on simply her pageantry then she should participate in the Miss SU pageant and just eliminate the vote,” said Pugh.
“The voting system is taking the decision of who should be Miss Southern out of the hand of the students and into the judges,” said senior class senator Nicole Kimes. “The decision should be made by the students.”
The next main issue of the meeting was the possible changing of salaries of certain SGA positions. The current SGA officials that get paid are president, vice president, activities coordinator, director of public relations and chief of staff. The senate decided that the president and vice president salary should be maintained however the majority decision was that the other positions should possibly eliminated.
“Salaries are vital functions to the student organizations on campus, all of the student officers work long hard hours on the clock and they deserve it,” said Wilson.
According to Sims, if the salaries of the officials are changed it will be the first time that the SGA salaries have ever been changed or eliminated. The motion was postponed and will be brought up on the agenda at the next meeting.
The next meeting will be held on February 19 in the Henton Conference room.