The 43rd edition of the Miss Spelman College pageant went down last Saturday, and there’s been a bit of controversy. During the pageant, seven students competed for the title of Miss Spelman College, with Kinsley Wilson named the winner and Jillian Collier named first runner-up.
Following the pageant, the institution announced that it had found a “technical discrepancy in the scoring process.” In addition to promising to overhaul policy, Spelman also announced that both Collier and Wilson will serve as co-Miss Spelman College. Collier says she vehemently disagrees with the decision, according to 11 Alive.
I’ve been doing HBCU Pulse for nearly 10 years. I’ve been doing HBCU media since I started at Fort Valley State in 2015. I also did election consulting from 2020 to 2023 and worked with a bunch of candidates, especially those running for class and campus queen positions. I’ve seen wins, and I’ve seen losses; I’ve seen beautiful ascensions to the crown, and I’ve seen drama-filled races. But I’ve never seen anything like this happen before in my time doing HBCU Pulse. I never even conceived that this could happen, honestly.
I think it is wild that this occurred because when you have a pageant, you’re supposed to determine the winner. While I don’t have any thoughts on the direct result of what occurred or on the contestants involved, I want to offer a broader take on a change I believe should occur in student leader races nationwide.
Student votes should take priority over the pageant result
I’ve said this privately for years to former clients and fellow student leaders: I believe we should determine student leaders by popular vote. I mean that for both SGA and the Royal Court. I believe we should fully embrace a system of democracy when choosing our student leaders, because they represent the school.
I understand that SGA culture and pageant culture are distinct. Campus Queens and Kings compete in pageants like the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame pageant, the Miss HBCU pageant, or the Mister HBCU pageant. I’m perfectly fine with a pageant being part of the process as a showcase of talent or to whittle down contestants if there are more than 3. As a Fort Valley State University alumnus, I’m used to that system for determining campus royalty.
But I am vehemently against the pageant being the sole or major determinant of who wins. Every time a pageant happens, we hear variations of “they cheated,” just like in sports when people blame the referees for the game result. A democratic system in which the top vote-getters earn attendant spots, and the winner becomes Mister or Miss, makes more sense. Or, if a school doesn’t have attendants, the popular vote determines the winner outright.
Addressing the argument against the popular vote system
People say the most popular people win popular vote contests, but that’s not always true. Greeks don’t always win, and notoriety isn’t just about looking good or being a basketball player. Typically, those who are popular in student leadership are popular for being good leaders, for their advocacy, and for carrying themselves well. I refuse to accept the notion that someone won “simply because they’re popular” without factoring in why they are popular.
I think there should be a national mandate at this point to eliminate the pageant as the sole determinant for these positions. I understand wanting to prepare them for the Miss National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame pageant or Miss HBCU, but we can do the pageant without it being the only factor. Pageant culture is cool—people are going crazy on TikTok over the Spelman pageant like it’s the Bama Rush trend from a couple of years ago that had an HBO documentary. Election season is a unique culture in HBCU life, but Spelman is not the only school where a pageant has led people to feel that things were handled incorrectly.
We should allow students to choose their representative, not judges who determine who’s fit based on performance in a two-hour event. Students need to put together a strong campaign, build connections, and treat people well to advance in leadership. That isn’t a tough ask, and there are students who will take on the mantle and make this happen.
I hope an amicable resolution is found in this Spelman College royal court situation that allows proper student representation at the number one public HBCU to remain strong. But this should serve as a wake-up call for HBCUs around the nation. Give students the power to determine who represents them.
