Of Ole Miss and the Post-Election "Riot"

Ok, post-election blog post, and this is how I feel about America: 

 

Half cringe, half frustration. You were doing so well guys! Oh, I'm definitely glad Obama won. The majority of Americans made the right choice and are clearly sensible people. For the rest of them.....

Now that it's been a full week since the election, I feel it is an appropriate time where I can comment on the situation. I knew Mississippi was going to be angry if Obama was elected, and wow was there a reaction. In fact there is a general feeling of discontent, to put it mildly, in many States in America and there is even talk of secession - really? Do you not recall the American Civil War in the 1860s? My stance on this, which is shared by most of my friends, is that the whole thing is ridiculous. Who knows what kind of government they would come up with if they managed to secede. God help those citizens. And, if they don't secede, apparently they want to move to Australia.... sure, move to Australia with a tax-paid social welfare system, universal healthcare, a ban on guns, a Prime Minister who is an athiest single woman, and whose citizens support Obama nearly 20 to 1...

There are students on campus who are talking about this, who are in support of secession, but they are pretty much the uninformed individual who thinks it's an easy funny option. And I'm sure everyone has heard about the "riot" at the University of Mississippi when the election was called.

So let's clear that up first.

This is the video of the "riot": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD0vJrRODtw

Yes, there was a reaction to the Presidential Election announcment, that much is clear. If you watch the video, you can see how about 400 students descended onto campus grounds... well, they're looking for the "riot." And it was kind of hard to find, as it was as un-riotesque as could possibly be. Really, I'd label it a "gathering." In actual fact, at most 20 students were particularly rowdy and making and encouraging racial slurs. The video really only shows people walking around. The only part of that video that upsets me is when the students yell our Hotty Toddy chant. If you're not familiar with it, this is the Ole Miss chant which we use during sporting events and social gatherings to rally students against an opposing team. It should never have been used in the context of the "riot" - sorry, "gathering" - but these were uninformed, idiotic students who were almost certainly fueled by alcohol. I don't forgive them for using it, this use of our symbol was entirely inappropriate.

In terms of what happened at the "gathering," nothing was broken, wrecked or destroyed. No one was physically attacked. The two arrests were due to public intoxication and not complying with police officers who tried to break up the crowd. An Obama Biden sign being burned was the most that physically happened, and it hasn't been confirmed that it even happened on campus. There were, unfortunately, racial slurs thrown about, which is so backward and wrong it made me angry.

But not only me. Our entire campus.

If you saw the "riot" reaction, I hope you also saw the response from the student body and faculty the day after. Everyone is disgusted with these few idiots. Dan Jones, the Chancellor for the University of Mississippi, made a statement the day after to this point:

"we are very disappointed in those students who took a very immature and uncivil approach to expressing their views about the election... all of us are ashamed of the few students who have negatively affected the reputations of each of us and of our university."

Chancellor Dan Jones' Statement: http://news.olemiss.edu/message-chancellor-dan-jones/#.UKLOA4b_7zw

The University of Mississippi is a safe campus with forward thinking individuals who do not, in any way, support racism. There has always been a dialogue about race, but this has obviously increased since November 6. I am in Graduate School and several of my classmates teach freshman classes who have taken time out of their class schedule to talk about this issue. In my History class, we spent an entire session talking about it. There are 21,000 students here, and those who know right and wrong greatly outnumber the idiots. And the entire university is responding to the acts of a few to show the country, and the world, that this really isn't the reality of Ole Miss.

The University of Mississippi is called "Ole Miss," our football team is called the "Rebels," and we have confederate symbols on campus such as commemorative statues to the fallen soldiers of the Civil War. This much is true. But this isn't because this is a racist university. It's an acknowledgement of our difficult history. We can't white wash what has happened, but we can change the meaning of what is left behind. And yes, there is a confederate statue, but we also have a James Meredith statue celebrating our first African-American student.

400 students "rioted" but 700 Ole Miss students, faculty, staff and community members responded by walking through campus the very next day in a Candlelight Walk, culminating in reading the university creed at the Lyceum - the exact spot where in 1962 there was an actual riot at the acceptance of James Meredith. Those who couldn't make it to the walk left messages supporting the walk and their continued belief in the university.

"I believe in respect for the dignity of each person, I believe in fairness and civility, I believe in personal and professional integrity, I believe in academic honesty, I believe in academic freedom, I believe in good stewardship of our resources, I pledge to uphold these values and encourage others to follow my example" - Ole Miss Creed

Candlelight Walk video: http://news.olemiss.edu/i-fairness-civility/#.UKLEZob_7zx

Now this is a true representation of our university. We are multi-cultural college; diverse in race, ethnicity, origin, beliefs, religion, and we are not only tolerant, but we encourage and promote diversity. This year we had an entire week celebrating the fact it is 50 years since the university integrated. We crowned our first African-American homecoming queen and elected our first female African-American student body president. Three years ago we elimated the song "From Dixie With Love" which was traditionally played during football games because it contained the line "the South will rise again" which no longer held a 'slave-holding' meaning to the students, but we got rid of it anyway. We also changed our college mascot, Colonel Reb, who many associated with a white plantation owner. We've made great leaps forward in changing any negative perception of our university and it's such a shame that these few students have again brought Ole Miss into a negative light when it really no longer deserves it. We weren't the only ones to see a small negative reaction on our campus. Hampden-Sydney College in Virgina saw students set off fireworks and break bottles near the Minority Student Union house, and yell racial insults and threats at its residents. However, of course, it's only Ole Miss that really makes the news. We still have a way to go, clearly, but so does the rest of America, and the world at large. I may not see it in my lifetime, but I hope one day people are judged only on their abilities, words, and actions, and not because of their skin colour, religion, or sexuality.

I believe in Ole Miss. I really do. There is no way I would ever align myself with a racist organization of any kind, and I am proud to say "our" and "we" when I refer to this university. We will continue to fight racism, and we will continue to promote learning and diversity.

We are Ole Miss.

Hotty Toddy!