Brandon Skaggs
JOUR 271 Section 7
4/19/13
Profile Story
WordCount: 648
Ole Miss has long been known as a school with deep ties to it’s history and tradition, but some traditions have to be broken for a university to grow and adapt. Courtney Pearson being crowned Ole Miss’ Homecoming Queen for 2012 is one of those groundbreaking moments.
Courtney represented a different side to Ole Miss that is not really displayed to the public, she represented the “underdog.” Courtney is a non-greek, African American, English Education Major at Ole Miss. She does not fit the general stereotype for what Ole Miss usually picks for homecoming queen, as a matter of fact she is the first African American homecoming queen at Ole Miss.
Her winning the crown in 2012 coincided with the 50th anniversary of James Meredith’s acceptance into Ole Miss. Meredith was the first African American to attend Ole Miss.
Courtney was prepared for the race factor to come into play when she began campaigning. She was ready for the onslaught of bigots and racists, but what she didn’t expect was the focus on her weight. She found the insults on her weight the hardest to deal with out of the whole campaign since she was a Type Two Diabetic.
“I was never uncomfortable with the way that I looked,” said Pearson, “I’m fat and I’m beautiful.”
What seemed to bother Pearson most about comments on her weight were the people she felt were “medically diagnosing” her because of her weight. She said that people would comment on pictures of her and call her unhealthy or even stated that she was going to die within a few years.
One man known as Tommy Sotomayor has expressed his opinion on Courtney’s appearance. He posted a video to his account TNN Raw on YouTube.com. In this video he attacks her relentlessly and refers to her as “disgusting” and “fat.” Sotomayor even went as far as to say that she is an “embarrassment,” to her race.
Courtney’s eyes got rather red as she began tearing up talking about Sotomayor’s video. Pearson continued talking not stopping for the tears as she explained her first experience seeing the video.
“He was ripping into me,” said Pearson through red eyes. One day the stresses became too much for her and she was sitting in one of her classes and told her professor “I just can’t do it today.”
“I know some people can be mean - and sometimes they were mean,” said Sean Higgins, a close friend who worked on the campaign.
Courtney’s campaign manager Adam Blackwell did not seem to notice Pearson’s weight to have any effect on the running.
“I honestly never even thought about Pearson’s weight throughout the campaign,” said Blackwell.
Blackwell did admit that in the beginning he did not have high hopes for the campaign, but once they started he threw all negativity out the window. Blackwell also felt that the image and representation of Courtney as a symbol of the underrepresented at Ole Miss helped her win as well as her dedication and work with the University itself.
“I think Pearson’s commitment and love for the University of Mississippi, as well as her beautiful personality and likable, approachable persona were a major factor in helping us win,” said Blackwell.
Pearson is now close to graduating and has moved past the backlash against her win in the past few months. Pearson is no longer diabetic, from working out on the elliptical to eating a lot of spinach leaves she is taking even more control of her life.
Courtney Pearson relaxed and confident talks about herself, "I'm fat and I'm beautiful."
Sources:
Courtney Pearson, Homecoming Queen 2012- (901) 489-0399
Sean Higgins, personal friend and Courtney Pearson- (605) 691-9317
Adam Blackwell, Courtney Pearson’s Campaign Manager- ablackwe@go.olemiss.edu
No comments:
Post a Comment