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.<\/p>\n
This is the third year the meetings have taken place under Gunn\u2019s leadership, and they have been coined \u201cMississippi Solutions \u2014 an Ideas Tour.\u201d Held across the state, they create a local forum allowing citizens to share ideas for improving communities.<\/p>\n
While Gunn encourages Mississippians to share their suggestions, he also asks them to provide possible solutions for their concerns.<\/p>\n
Gunn\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a nice opportunity for us to meet with someone from the capital \u2014 someone who was willing to give us access to sit down and talk with him,\u201d said Davis. \u201cHe talked a lot about how the government is established to help, but it\u2019s up to the citizens to come together and create action.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s also on staff as a work-study student in President William N. LaForge\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeaker Gunn\u2019s visit shows that college kids can have their voices heard,\u201d added Davis. \u201cEven though he\u2019s from the capital, he\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meeting also presented a lighter moment when Gunn became so involved conversing with students that he made them late for class.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was really funny,\u201d said Davis. \u201cHe 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, \u2018Dr. LaForge was with us too.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis said spending time with Gunn was a valuable learning experience for her and she would consider his advice while serving as attorney general.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learned that not everything is picture perfect,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are just going to be days when people come after you. You can\u2019t make everyone happy, but the solution is fairness at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n