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ASB President Says Letter to Students Supporting Chancellor's Diversity Plan Doesn't Require Cabinet Vote
HottyToddy.com has received a letter signed by the president and vice president of the Associated Student Body (ASB) and addressed to the students of the University of Mississippi. The letter broadly supports Chancellor Dan Jones’ six-point inclusiveness report, although ASB President Davis Rodgers acknowledges that no vote of the ASB cabinet or legislative body took place endorsing the letter and only a few cabinet and legislative staff members were consulted on its drafting.
“I’m aware of no ruling or ASB constitutional requirement that requires a vote or cabinet approval on a letter such as this to the student body,” Davis said. “The vice president and I did consult with ASB staff members and other students on their thoughts about the chancellor’s report, and in the editing and drafting of the report, but we took our own initiative to reach out to students. We want them to know we are here, and involved and plan to take an active role to ensure the students’ voices are heard as this process moves forward.
“In the past, Davis continued, “we haven’t always been in a position to respond publicly to university actions and we felt the importance of this issue, at a time when most students are not on campus, called for us to reach out to students and reassure them that we’re involved.”
When asked what his fellow students and ASB members were saying to him about the report, Davis said most were supportive of initiatives to increase inclusiveness and create a welcoming university environment, but that nearly all students he talked to wanted to protect the use of “Ole Miss” as a cherished and acceptable name for the university.
Here is the letter:
HottyToddy.com has received many comments on the Chancellor’s Action Plan on inclusiveness. One of the most thoughtful is from former Daily Mississippian editor and respected veteran journalist Sidna Brower Mitchell:
“While I can somewhat understand Chancellor Dan Jones offering a plan for “fostering a more inclusive and welcoming environment” on the Ole Miss campus, I wonder if he is trying to rewrite history.
Will the bullet holes in the Lyceum be removed because that building was hit during the Civil War and also on the night of the riot when James Meredith integrated the university back in 1962?
Why was Confederate Drive named that in the first place? Why rename it Chapel Drive? After all, Mississippi was part of the Confederacy.
And what about the Confederate statute? What was its significance when it was put into place? Do people know the history of General Walker speaking from that statue the night of the 1962 riot?
As far as the name Ole Miss, I think of a grand old and gracious lady not the wife of some despicable plantation owner as many would have us believe. I guess we would have to come up with a new cheer and drop Hotty Toddy.
Rather than erase history, why not teach what happened — be it 52 years ago or 150 years ago? Hopefully people learn from mistakes. But perhaps, as the chancellor said by “offer(ing) more history, putting the past into context, telling more of Mississippi’s struggles with slavery, secession and their aftermath” will do just that. However, much depends on who writes and who teaches the history.
Frankly, my concern is that a big public relations campaign for Ole Miss to make all these changes will only bring more opportunities for undue criticism of the university and the state rather than note the progress that has been made over the years. Such actions make it sound as if Ole Miss is still the same school it was back in 1962 when the university and the state received so much bad publicity.
I’ve never understood why parents, religious leaders and teachers haven’t stressed what my father did when I was growing up in the 1950s: “You accept people for who they are, not the color of their skin, not their religion, not their parents and not where they live.”
Sidna Brower Mitchell
Andy Knef is editor of HottyToddy.com.
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RebelGuy007
August 6, 2014 at 11:59 pm
This really pisses me off. I grew up in Mississippi and have loved Ole Miss since birth. But people like Dan Jones want to change everything about Ole Miss! Sidna Mitchell said it best, they are trying to rewrite history. All this is about political correctness. Mississippi wasn’t the only state that had slaves, but you don’t hear people in Alabama or Georgia changing everything about their university just to please a few ignorant people.
We need to bring back Col. Reb and get rid of the black bear! Any true Ole Miss fan knows that we are the OLE MISS REBELS!!! FIRE DAN JONES and the rest of the liberals that want to change Ole Miss!
Rebel To The End
August 7, 2014 at 6:26 am
You are correct RebelGuy007 bring back the Colonel Reb. and the Flag fire Jones and cage the bear.
RebelGuy007
August 7, 2014 at 8:55 am
Thanks. Don’t forget about Dixie. That is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard and needs to be played during the game. Nothing pisses me off more than when people give into political correctness. Plus people like Dan Jones wants to change and rewrite the history of Ole Miss. If there is anyone I would like to hang, it would be people like Dan Jones! I didn’t join the army and fight for this country just to see everything change because of political correctness. People like Dan Jones and the rest of the liberals are destroying and making this country weak.
Robert24
August 7, 2014 at 1:35 pm
So, I’m not sure if I understand this headline. Are you you are condemning this guy for not taking this to a vote? I thought the cabinet acts purely in an advisory capacity and that they hold no representation of the student body whatsoever. So taking this to vote through cabinet would make no more sense than taking it to an Econ 504 class to vote on.
Also, to answer Sidna Brower Mitchell’s questions:
Will the bullet holes in the Lyceum be removed because that building was hit during the Civil War and also on the night of the riot when James Meredith integrated the university back in 1962? No. The bullet holes do not represent racial oppression or social and cultural constructs that barred entry into the University, but the battles to ensure that those constructs be removed.
Why was Confederate Drive named that in the first place? Why rename it Chapel Drive? After all, Mississippi was part of the Confederacy. True, and France was at one point occupied by Nazi Germany, but that doesn’t mean that the country needs to revel in that history or keep the Nazi flags flying. Plus, Chapel Drive honors the Paris-Yates Chapel, an impressive building built to hold worship services. I believe this a more noble cause to name a street than a relationship to the CSA.
And what about the Confederate statute? What was its significance when it was put into place? Do people know the history of General Walker speaking from that statue the night of the 1962 riot?: Do people know the history of the beheading of Col. Reb under that statue? Maybe, Maybe not. The fact of the matter is that statue was constructed in memoriam of confederate soldiers. I like this rebel guy here. He has served our country well. Why not make a stature honoring his efforts and the thousands of other Mississippi soldiers who have fought to preserve this nation? That would feel more like the Mississippi I want to be a part of. The mississippi of today. That statue would bring honor to our state.
As far as the name Ole Miss, I think of a grand old and gracious lady not the wife of some despicable plantation owner as many would have us believe.: Ole Miss, as a term, is not definitive. There are infinite translations of Ole Miss and each person holds, in their heart, a different tie to the term Ole Miss. I think it should be our goal to make sure that all of these ties are positive, and I think that is exactly the goal of this new Vice Chancellor.
I guess we would have to come up with a new cheer and drop Hotty Toddy: Why? I believe this is a slippery slope fallacy but there is so little context i can barely say for sure.
I think we are learning form our mistakes, and this new vice chancellor is proof. I have lived in Mississippi my entire life and I am tired of being associated with Mississippi’s past. I believe many others feel the same way. This “public relations campaign” is not about erasing our past. Its about ensuring the future of Ole Miss is filled with acceptance and prosperity and and to holding on to those traditions that make Ole Miss the best college in the south. Hotty Toddy.
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