"Miss Tennessee State" Chosen after Snafus, Revoting

Photo credit: The Meter Miss Tennessee State, Tomeika Dobson, is to serve as an ambassador for the university.

After an election that saw a week of thrown-out votes, a denial of the loser's appeal, and finally a campus-wide revote, junior Tomeika Dobson has been declared Miss Tennessee State University.

Dobson, an Indianapolis native majoring in biology/pre-med with emphasis in cellular and molecular biology, won by nearly 400 votes.

The election originally took place on Thursday, April 7, but the omission of a representative-at-large candidate’s name on the ballot resulted in a ruling by Ronald Myles, director of student activities, that votes cast that day were null and void. Student elections were then extended through Monday, April 11.

That day, Dobson was declared the winner by 31 votes, but the office of student affairs decided a revote was necessary after irregularities were found, including illegal campaigning and improper polling techniques.

The irregularities resulted in some members of the Student Election Commission being dismissed from the body.

First runner-up Mirica Stevens appealed the April 11 results.

“I told Tomeika that it is nothing personal . . . but there were a lot of irregularities,” Stevens said.

Stevens said she had spoken with several students who told her that she had done a great job throughout the week and that they voted for her. She also said some of the same students told her that they voted on April 7 and did not know that their votes had been thrown out.

Later, the Student Election Commission was not able to provide a count of how many votes were thrown out because there was no tally of the votes declared null and void, according to Stevens.

Nevertheless, the Student Election Commission denied Stevens’ appeal.

The office of student affairs reversed that denial.

“Essentially SEC made the wrong decision,” Myles said. “Student Affairs has the right to overturn decisions they deem wrong or inappropriate.” Myles' office issued an official apology to both the student body and Miss TSU candidates. His office also told the SEC to issue a public apology, but SEC members refused, saying they felt their decision was correct.

“I totally disagree with Student Affairs’ decision,” said LaToya Hull, a junior math education major from Atlanta and member of the SEC. “If the administration is going to do stuff like this, what’s the point of having an organization like SEC?”

The Office of Student Affairs ordered a revote for April 26 and 27, and SEC Chair Adeniyi Bakare predicted a low turnout.

According to Bakare, Dobson's final total was in the 540s. The next closest was Stevens, whose tally was in the 100s. Tennessee State has 9,100 students.

"As your Miss TSU, I can not begin to express the joy I’m feeling to have been given the opportunity to represent you," Dobson said in a letter to the editor in the April 25 issue of the Meter. "The fact that you believe in me and trust that I am able to uphold such a prestigious position speaks volumes into my life."

The duties of Miss Tennessee State are: to serve as an ambassador for the university, to help recruit students, and to serve as mentor to students. Winners must have high moral character, poise, loyalty, and an amiable personality and friendly attitude, according to the student handbook.

Eddie R. Cole Jr., a student at Tennessee State University, writes for the Meter.

Posted May 16, 2005