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Students learn from Gunn

By September 25, 2014Community, President, Students
Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn met with a number of Delta State Students on Tuesday, including junior Joycelyn Davis (far right).

Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn visited Cleveland City Hall Tuesday, providing an opportunity for citizens and students alike to interact with a powerful voice from Jackson.

This is the third year the meetings have taken place under Gunn’s leadership, and they have been coined “Mississippi Solutions — an Ideas Tour.” Held across the state, they create a local forum allowing citizens to share ideas for improving communities.

While Gunn encourages Mississippians to share their suggestions, he also asks them to provide possible solutions for their concerns.

Gunn’s visit provided Delta State University students the unique opportunity to have their voices heard by a state official in close quarters. Joycelyn Davis, a junior social work major, had extra motivation to attend as she serves as the attorney general of the Delta State Student Government Association.

“This was a nice opportunity for us to meet with someone from the capital — someone who was willing to give us access to sit down and talk with him,” said Davis. “He talked a lot about how the government is established to help, but it’s up to the citizens to come together and create action.”

Davis is no stranger to community action, as her responsibilities as attorney general require her to oversee fair elections and campaigns for SGA positions. She’s also on staff as a work-study student in President William N. LaForge’s office.

“Speaker Gunn’s visit shows that college kids can have their voices heard,” added Davis. “Even though he’s from the capital, he’s willing to visit the smaller towns and talk with you. He listened to everything that was said and promised he would bring back suggestions and concerns to the capital.”

The meeting also presented a lighter moment when Gunn became so involved conversing with students that he made them late for class.

“That was really funny,” said Davis. “He wrote a note to the professor explaining the students were late because they were with him. He even gave out his personal cell phone number and wrote, ‘Dr. LaForge was with us too.’”

Davis said spending time with Gunn was a valuable learning experience for her and she would consider his advice while serving as attorney general.

“I’ve learned that not everything is picture perfect,” she said. “There are just going to be days when people come after you. You can’t make everyone happy, but the solution is fairness at all times.”

Learn more about Gunn’s statewide meetings at http://philipgunn.org/.