{"id":9413,"date":"2018-04-26T17:30:36","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T21:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/?p=9413"},"modified":"2018-06-07T13:32:37","modified_gmt":"2018-06-07T17:32:37","slug":"if-not-us-who-what-it-takes-to-become-vice-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/if-not-us-who-what-it-takes-to-become-vice-president\/","title":{"rendered":"If not us, who? What it takes to become vice president"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mills Hayes being sworn in as the vice president of the student body. Credit: Mills Hayes.<\/p>\n

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Mills Hayes in her office in the Student Government offices.<\/p>\n

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Mills Hayes posing with her little, Emma Mondo, at the event ‘Think Pink’ she co-chaired with Jessica Jaramillo for Zeta Tau Alpha. Credit: Mills Hayes.<\/p>\n

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Mills Hayes with the Student Gamecock Television, SGTV, team. Credit: Mills Hayes.<\/p>\n

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Mills Hayes with student body president, Taylor Wright, during their election campaign. Credit: Mills Hayes.<\/p>\n

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Empowering women in politics\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mills Hayes, a junior journalism student at the University of South Carolina, sits in her new office inside of the Student Government wing. She was sworn in as the<\/span> vice president of the student body<\/span><\/a> less than a week ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

For her, equal representation in politics is more important now than ever. It was a tenet of her platform, something she made clear while addressing students at her inauguration. At the swearing in, she wore an all-white jumpsuit, a color reminiscent of the women\u2019s suffrage movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s, at her inauguration.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI look forward to a future where there are more than one-in-five members of Congress that are women,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cI look forward to a future, where female politicians are judged more on their policy positions and less on their wardrobe. I look forward to a future where women, and especially women of color, make $1 for every $1 a man makes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Women\u2019s representation in government is still limited. In fact, according to<\/span> UN Women<\/span><\/a>, the organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, only<\/span> 22.8 percent<\/span><\/a> of all national parliamentarians were women as of June 2016, effectively making 77.2 percent, or over three fourths of the decision-makers, men.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no wonder that women\u2019s rights aren\u2019t represented effectively. Their voices never stood a chance compared to their male counterparts.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to representation in the United States government, the statistics become even more grim. Women\u2019s representation in the U.S. compared to other countries dropped from 52nd place to 102nd in the last two decades, according to<\/span> Inter-Parliamentary Union<\/span><\/a>. In the last year alone, the U.S. dropped two spots, from 100 to 102.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those statistics don\u2019t get much better locally, either. In South Carolina, women are also in the minority when it comes to representation in elected offices.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ranking 24th in the country<\/span><\/a> for gender parity, the state pales in comparison to others. In December 2016, the state swore in four women to the Senate, the most women sworn in at the same time in State House history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently in the the S.C. State House, there are only four women in the Senate out of 46 senators, and 23 female House members out of 124 members. So, despite the fact that women make up<\/span> 51.5 percent<\/span><\/a> of the state\u2019s population, only nine percent of members in the Senate and 19 percent of members in the House are women. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the university level, gender disparity in elected roles exists as well. According to the<\/span> Daily Gamecock<\/span><\/a>, only 20 percent of student body candidates are women, despite the majority of the undergraduate population being women.<\/span><\/p>\n

This, coupled with<\/span> WalletHub\u2019s 2018 report<\/span><\/a> placing South Carolina in the top six states that are the worst for women, proves the need for strong women\u2019s voices at all levels of government, especially here in Columbia.<\/span><\/p>\n

A reason for everything<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t originally planning on going to the University of South Carolina,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cI\u2019m from Lexington, which is about 30 minutes away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For this South Carolina native, her dream was to go out-of-state for college. However, she ended up changing her mind in favor of the University of South Carolina.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI knew about the student media opportunities and journalism program,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cThose are two of the biggest reasons I ultimately chose to go here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So, she packed her bags and prepared for the next four years. Only, she never could have anticipated what they would have in store for her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I did was go through sorority recruitment,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cI think a lot of girls get caught up in superficial or cool things, but it was never about that for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Hayes, Zeta Tau Alpha allowed her the opportunity to support a cause close to home.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy stepmother passed away from breast cancer, so it\u2019s a cause that\u2019s important to my family,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cShe went from being this dynamic person, taking care of her kids and living life, to a woman confined to her medical bed. It was really hard to watch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It was life-altering moments like that that has made her the leader she is today.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy family has always been in a transition; there\u2019s never not something going on,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cGoing through loss, watching my family members experience loss and then ultimately watching new relationships flourish gave me a unique perspective on life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to a position as immersive as the student body\u2019s vice president, Hayes believes a leader should see problems from all perspectives. It is a lesson Hayes learned early on in her leadership roles on campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

A leader in the making<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cI actually tried out for freshman council and didn\u2019t get it,\u201d Hayes said, laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s a council consisting of 30 freshmen who represent their grade and weigh in on student government issues.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hayes didn\u2019t let that deter her, though. After joining Zeta Tau Alpha, and becoming the philanthropy co-chair for Think Pink, an initiative created to raise money for breast cancer awareness, Hayes decided she wanted to become more involved on campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI also joined Student Gamecock Television (SGTV) within student media,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cI started off as a News 4 staffer and had no idea what I was doing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes inexperience pushes you to work harder, she said, which is exactly what Hayes did.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI worked my way up to become the co-Weekend Preview producer, SGTV\u2019s weekly segment, that updates students on events happening in the area,\u201d Hayes said. Subsequently, she became the news director at the beginning of her sophomore year and later the station manager.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the station manager, Hayes managed an executive staff of 19 people and a general staff of over 100. \u201cI learned a lot as the station manager, namely how to work with other people,\u201d Hayes said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her ability to manage a team while respectfully and quickly solving problems is the reason she was eventually put in touch with Taylor Wright, her presidential running mate on the Student Government ticket. <\/span><\/p>\n

A funny story<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Hayes never planned to run for student body vice president. However, that all changed when she met Wright.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe actually met before we decided to run together,\u201d Hayes said as she threw her head back and covered her eyes. \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty crazy story.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When she was the station manager at SGTV, someone on the team group message posted a racially insensitive joke. It caused Hayes to re-evaluate how the team was being run.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI removed her from the team and had an informal body meeting with the whole team to address the situation,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cI sat there with everyone, and said, \u2018Let\u2019s just round-robin this. I wanted to figure out what we could have done differently and understand the problem from every perspective.’ I wanted to make sure this never happened again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Twisting the ring on her finger, Hayes fast-forwards to a few weeks later, when she presented the station’s semester accomplishments in front of the student organization of leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was so nervous. I had a feeling someone was going to ask a question about the message,\u201d Hayes said. Sure enough, someone did.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was Taylor! He wanted to know how I addressed the incident,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cWhen we met to talk about potentially running, he brought up that moment and how well I handled it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With the help of others<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Learning to be a leader starts well before you\u2019re in the role. For Hayes, it started when she was young.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be here today without my parents,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot from them both. I go to my dad for all of my career-related questions. And I credit my mom for teaching me how to be an independent, strong woman.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Her list of mentors doesn\u2019t stop there. One of the people who\u2019s always been a role model to her is her sister, who is never short of advice to offer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe never gives up on people,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cI\u2019m so independent, so sometimes I fall into the trap of a one-track mind, just focusing on what I need to get done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When she catches herself forgetting to check in with friends and family, she reminds herself of something her sister has always said: “Although I\u2019m the star of my own show, I\u2019m not the star of everyone else\u2019s.” She said she has to make sure she supports others.<\/span><\/p>\n

While it might seem like Hayes has it all together, it\u2019s not always easy. With every new role comes new challenges, or the reminder of old ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always had this insecurity that I\u2019m not good enough,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cI\u2019ve always felt like I needed to show the world that I matter in some way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In a time where social media is so encapsulating or there\u2019s always an urgency to be working on a bigger and better project, it\u2019s easy to get wrapped up in those insecurities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think as women, we see each other as competition sometimes,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cBut women who are against each other don\u2019t get anything done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Hayes, her goal as vice president is to remind students of that fact, the idea that there\u2019s room for everyone at the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to put yourself into perspective,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cWomen can accomplish so much, especially with the support of one another.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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If Not Us, Who? is a series featuring women who are igniting change locally and nationally in politics, social activism, education and business. The goal of the series is to not only highlight the work they are doing, but educate the community on issues and movements happening around them. Here are the stories of how these women became a relentless force of empowerment and what they are doing to continue to bring change. Mills Hayes is a junior journalism major at the university of south carolina serving as the student body vice president. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":9425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9413"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9413"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9749,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9413\/revisions\/9749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}