The Student Association Senate of Mississippi State University voted Tuesday evening to approve “Resolution 12,” with Senators Ashley Brooks and Patrick Coccaro voting against, and five abstaining votes from Senators Emily Anderson, Lauren Coleman, Hannah Fiser, Molly McAdams and Taylor Wilkinson.
Resolution 12, proposed and co-written by Senator Taylor Thomas, a junior representing MSU’s College of Engineering and Senator Hunt Walne, a junior representing Agricultural and Life Sciences, states the current flag of Mississippi should be examined and modified by the Mississippi State Legislature to ensure it represents the people of Mississippi.
Resolution 12 also states MSU enrolls the highest percentage of African American students out of all the Southeastern Conference universities. It reads:
“Be it resolved that, the Student Association expresses the need for the legislature of the state of Mississippi to examine the current state flag and modify it in a way that acknowledges our important history, but also communicates that Mississippi’s best days are ahead.”
Senator Patrick Coccaro, a junior forestry major serving his first year on the SA Senate, said there was not enough evidence warranting the SA Senate to take this step toward pushing the legislature to change the state flag of Mississippi. Coccaro also said the state flag is not a priority issue for the legislature.
“I personally don’t see the state flag of Mississippi as a racial symbol. Also, I feel like race relations within the state of Mississippi are a little bit better than other states,” Coccaro said. “I don’t think the state flag of Mississippi is keeping any students from applying to Mississippi State.”
Thomas said the long term plan for Resolution 12 is to gain support of this measure from all three of Mississippi’s biggest universities: Ole Miss, Southern Miss and MSU.
“We represent 20,000 students, and it’s something that we think is a big enough issue that it should be brought up,” Thomas said. “We as Mississippians are saying this is something that is important to us.”
On the contrary, Senator Hunt Walne said Resolution 12 presents a unique opportunity for the SA Senate to bring up an important issue and raise awareness about the issue throughout the state.
“A lot of predominant people in the state have come out in support of changing this, but nothing has really come from the ground up, and this could be the first opportunity for the people of the state and the future of the state to make an opinion on this,” Walne said.
Walne said the SA Senate considered conducting a poll to gauge where the student body stood on the issue, but the results would be too skewed to get a definite answer to the question.
“We’re a smaller body representing a large population. We should be able to form an opinion for the entire student body,” Walne said. “I know, definitely, everybody across campus will not be in support of this, but I think the majority would.”
Walne also said Mississippi has the potential to be viewed in a better light if the state chose to change the flag without any prompting from social and societal pressures, or in reaction to a tragic event.
“We’re pushing, obviously, to change the flag, but the main thing we’re pushing is for it to be brought up in the state legislature. It’s currently not being brought up in the state legislature, house and senate,” Walne said. “We wanted to change Mississippi for the good. We didn’t need someone to come in here and tell us to fix things.”
The passed resolution will be sent to MSU President Mark Keenum, President of the Robert Holland Faculty Senate Cody Coyne, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, Mississippi Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, and Mississippi Speaker of the House, Philip Gunn.
Senator Taylor Thomas (left), and Senator Hunt Walne (right) discuss benefits of Resolution 12, a sentiment thats states the Mississippi state legislature should consider examining and modifying the state flag.
