Cianna Hope Reeves
Managing Editor
Glitz, glamour, confidence, oh my!
The competition for student campus leaders jumpstarted early last week and the race has officially begun for six contestants vying to be the 80thMiss JSU and 3rdMister JSU.
Students, faculty, staff, family and friends gathered inside the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium on Thursday, March 28 to witness who would secure a spot on the ballot and become closer to owning the historic crown and title.
Thee Wiz was the theme of the pageant and was hosted by former Miss Jackson State University, Anissa C. Butler (2014-2015) and Michael Taylor, a junior theatre major from Chicago, Ill.
The masters of ceremonies brought their energy to the highly-anticipated occasion and introduced the opening of each event.
Five Miss JSU contestants and four Mister JSU contestants competed on stage in front of the student body and judges hoping to charm their way to victory.
Competitors vying to reign as Miss JSU included— Alia Hall, Alexia Lee, Madison Lockett, Naysa Lynch and Asia Thompson.
Ashton Gage, Percy Brown IV, Gabriel Payton and Grant Broadway competed for the crown of Mister JSU.
The contestants were judged according to four categories— oratorical, talent, poise and projection, and on-stage question and answer.
The show’s opening started with Darrian B. Jackson, the current Mister JSU and Gabrielle Baker, the current Miss JSU taking the stage with K Studio tap dancers as they bopped to the night’s theme song, “Ease on Down the Road,” by Michael Jackson.
Immediately after, the nine contenders vying for the top royal position gracefully glided onto stage with smiles, confident walks and poise as they modeled in their first wardrobe appearance of the night.
Following their prance on center stage, the oratorical phase began. Each contender was allotted three minutes to state their mission and initiatives and would be judged based on content, appearance, diction and grammar and communication skills.
Hall delivered a testimonial about her very first impression of Jackson State University just at age 2 and how her decision to continue the family tradition has not been short of amazing.
“See, I did not choose JSU, JSU chose me,” she chanted. “I was just a little girl sitting in the stands at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium chanting, screaming and dancing.”
She continued, “We are the future of our beloved University and we will carry the tradition for years to come. For the past three years, Jackson State University has been my home, Jackson State University has molded me and shaped me into the woman I am today. I have learned you cannot love Thee, until you have lived Thee.”
Male contestant, Ashton Gage, entered the stage reciting the established history of JSU and crediting the institution for producing an extensive lineage of exceptional professionals.
“JSU has been an institution that continues to exemplify excellence, so it was an institution undoubtedly for me,” expressed Gage. “Being a Jackson native, I knew I wanted to stay because how could the state of Mississippi progress as a whole, if the best kept leaving.”
After all of the contenders shared their purpose for competing, their love for JSU and their mission to the student body, Scottie Willis Jr. performed a song selection and introduced talent as the next category.
Hall and Lynch serenaded the audience with a vocal performance and Gage rapped “Walk Thru,” by Rich Homie Quan as Insatiable Modeling Troupe shared the stage as his background models and dancers. Lee, Lockett, Broadway and Payton recited poetry, while Brown IV mimed to “Stand,” by Donnie McClurkin.
In this last portion of the pageant, each contestant was judged on overall first impression, the ability to articulate, personality, confidence, stage presence and the ability to answer in a timely manner.
After the final segment concluded, the judges tallied the scores, the royal court candidates were introduced on stage in order of class and the final walk of 2018-2019 Miss JSU Gabrielle Baker and Mister JSU Darrian Jackson occurred.
After time to deliberate, the host and hostess announced the decision. Lynch, Hall and Lockett were selected to campaign for Miss JSU and Payton, Gage, and Broadway for Mister JSU.
Campus-wide election day is Friday, April 5 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
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