Thesouthernstatesman's Blog

The Dying Traditions of Ole Miss

So if you’re a Southerner, especially a Mississippian then you are probably well aware of the hoopla that’s going on at the Ole Miss campus about Colonel Reb. Colonel Reb for those who aren’t aware has been a tradition at Ole Miss since the 1940′s. He has been on the sidelines cheering and inspiring the crowds since most of our grandparents have been in diapers. He resembles a gentleman planter of the Old South. He’s got a long, white mustache and white patch on his chin. He wears a colonel style hat and carries a cane. A very sharped dressed man indeed.

Well, since the year of 2003 he has been banned from the sidelines and games because of liberal controversy over his very Southern image which some say is a slap in the face to the black community. The most ridiculous thing is, in that year a vote was held to get a feel of how the students felt about keeping good ole Colonel Reb and 94 percent of the student body voted to keep him on the field. A great number of the students at Ole Miss were black.

Now going back to the history of Ole Miss the Confederate ties are outstanding. When the Civil War broke out classes were completely interrupted when the entire student body enlisted with the Confederate Army. The university also had its own infantry unit which was Company A 11th Mississippi and was nicknamed the University Grays. The school also held a hospital in the university buildings for Confederate and Union troops alike.

I would say it’s safe to say that Ole Miss is the most “Confederate” university in the country. So I ask this; if you are going to take away Colonel Reb then why not just burn down the entire university? Sounds silly doesn’t it? Well, it is. It is silly and appalling to even think about taking such a perfectly representative figure from Ole Miss simply because a few nut jobs want to wage a race war over the meaning. Tradition is at the root of every university. You take it away you might as well change the name from Ole Miss to “The Mississippi Institute of Higher Learning.” Watch school spirit fly right out the door and watch your alumni drop.

This just goes to show how democracy is on the back burner in this country. If you have a television network and an opinion you can bet you have more power than the people. The majority of the student body wants to see Colonel Reb at the games and on the football field. Good thing is, people in Mississippi are hard-headed and are outspoken about it. They won’t go down without a fight. If they want the Reb there they will make their own suits and go to the games. They will wear the Confederate flag on their shirts and they will show their support.

As a matter of fact there is a group doing just that. They are called the Colonel Reb Foundation. They are wearing Colonel Reb suits to the games and going all over getting the message across. This shows how steadfast the good people of the state of Mississippi are. They roll up their sleeves and get things done. This could stand as a testament for the rest of America. When things aren’t being handled right you take matters back into your own hands and fix them. That is how our forefathers did it and that is what was in mind when the the Southern states seceded from the union 150 years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kknk6Grr02M

http://saveolemiss.com/ (Colonel Reb Foundation)

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