Ole Miss’s racial past documented

Ole Miss deals with race almost every year. Last semester it was rumble in the circle, when six female student’s escalating dispute resulted in a box cutter fight captured on youtube.

Here is a comment left on the DM’s story. Stan Jones wrote:

” As a proud Ole Miss alum, let me be the first to say way to represent our fine institution with class and grace….

They may do this type of garbage at Memphis State or at Alcorn, but it has no place here. A boxcutter??…hope they stick you under the jail?

Alcorn State and Memphis State are predominately black schools

In fall 2007 The DM’s Nicole Spinuzzi wrote about freshman Jeremiah Taylor being pushed down the stairs of the Deke house after being told there was a “racial rush list.”

Deke’s were eventually suspended.

While other racial incidents have happened since 2002, this next story, which appeared in Campus Report, a news service where “articles focus on three issues: the exploitation of the classroom or university resources to indoctrinate students; discrimination against students, faculty or administrators based on political or academic beliefs; and campus violations of free speech,” is an interesting look at what happened when several black students wrote racial slurs on some dorm room doors.

Sara Russo writes:

“When obscene and racist slurs were found scrawled on the dormitory doors of several black students at the University of Mississippi, administrators at the school wasted no time convening tolerance meetings and suggesting that federal hate crimes charges might be brought against the perpetrators. The national news media rushed to cover the story. One month later, when it was discovered that the graffiti artists were three black students, the University failed to file criminal charges against the culprits and penalized them with probation, community service, and research papers.”

The list could go on but I don’t want to be here all day.

Mississippi right choice for Presidential Debate

While the Obama and McCain are out searching for the best vice president, Ole Miss and Oxford are prepping for the upcoming debate. 

Construction on University has become a headache but is looking good, new restaurants are opening up on the square, and journalist have visited to see how their team will cover Ole Miss’ historic weekend. 

I know the Daily Mississippian is thinking of story ideas and acquiring press passes for the few (if even) reporters and editors selected for on sight coverage (I have had my fingers crossed since the announcement was made in November 2007).

Ole Miss was selected as the first of three debates, of course we were all pumped when it happened, however the announcement made at least one city furious – New Orleans. The New York Time reports the story in November.  

Many in New Orleans were stung by the decision and said the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which chooses the sites for the general-election debates, had unfairly sent a signal that New Orleans was still not ready for prime time. And they said politics had been at play because Republicans in particular did not want to have to confront the severe challenges that New Orleans poses.

“Members of the Commission on Presidential Debates continue to come up with preposterous excuses — some of them contradictory — as to why they snubbed New Orleans as a debate site,” an editorial in The Times-Picayune of New Orleans said yesterday. “No wonder New Orleanians think the process was rigged and three presidential candidates have criticized the decision.”

“The sense of outrage in New Orleans is very significant, from the state leadership to government to business,” said Arnold Fielkow, president of the City Council and former executive vice president of the New Orleans Saints. “We feel a wrong has been done, and we hope it will be corrected.”

The frustration in New Orleans was fueled by what many saw as a secretive process that turned its back on a chance to provide an eye-opening view of difficult issues that they want the candidates, and the nation, to address.

Sorry to say New Orleans but your not the only city in this country with problems.  Ole Miss has been recovering from our turbulent past for a lifetime, we still have some race issues and academic questions (easy to get in, low rankings for many  schools and Departments) but we are certainly “up with the times.” 

And the debate will only help address our remaining problems, quit being selfish and give us a break.

In the past 10 years Ole Miss has progressed more than the 100 years before, and its our time to prove to any doubters out there we aren’t as bad as we once were. (I still feel there are race issues on campus, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t improved ten-fold since even the 1980’s).

The historic significance of having the first major party black canidate here debating has also added symbolism to the Sept. 26 debate that NOLA just couldn’t have.

NOLA will still be recovering and dealing with Katrina (and new possible storms) in four years, but Ole Miss has come along way since 1960’s. Despite the racism I have seen (from NOLA natives as much as anyone) and written about it’s time for us to showcase what we stand for today.

One last time: you are not the all important Mecca of the world people should always be thinking about, I think history speaks for itself in why Oxford is a better choice than New Orleans.

Here is a link to everything Ole Miss presidential debate. Please go and explore this website.