Ole Miss trying to become more PC
It’s been a long road for the University of Mississippi, otherwise known as Ole Miss, to join the rest of us in the 21st century. First, it banned small Confederate flags and BYOBourbon at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Then, it eliminated Colonel Reb. Now, it’s ending the fan chant of “The South will rise again.”
However, some fans have continued to recite the chant at the end of the song, “From Dixie With Love,” despite the change made last week at the chancellor’s request. The Ole Miss band performs the medley before and after games.
Earlier this month, the Ole Miss student government passed a resolution suggesting the chant be replaced by the phrase, “To hell with LSU.”
Dan Jones, who became Ole Miss chancellor in July, said he asked the school’s band director, David Wilson, to modify the song to support the efforts of the Associated Student Body. He said he has received complaints from alumni that the slogan is offensive.
“The fact is, the phrase ‘The South Will Rise Again’ is not part of our tradition or spirit, and it is inconsistent with the university’s values and what Ole Miss stands for – a great public university with a focus on the future,” Jones said in a phone interview Thursday from the campus in Oxford.
It should be noted here that the phrase “ole miss” is slave slang from the plantation days referring to the wife of the planter. At some point, Ole Miss is just going to have to own up to the fact that its athletic program is referred to by words that are offensive to some. Most of the world has moved on from that battle, and the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins have received their own karma by being two of the worst teams in the NFL.
