*BREAKING: IHL Approves Moving Confederate Statue at UM

By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

With no discussion, the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees approved a request from the University of Mississippi to relocate the Confederate statue in front of the Lyceum circle to near the Confederate Cemetery on campus.

The measure was approved as part of the board’s consent agenda and no comments were made in regard to the request.

According to the university’s submission, moving the monument will cost approximately $1.15 million and will be funded with private funds.

“The University of Mississippi gave careful time and consideration in developing a thoughtful plan to relocate its Confederate Monument on the basis that the University Cemetery is the most suitable location for this monument … It will be carefully disassembled, transported, and reassembled to a more suitable site adjacent to the Confederate Cemetery, also on the UM campus,” stated the university’s written request to IHL.

The Confederate Monument will be accessible by a newly-laid brick path surrounded by trees and enhanced with lighting. Included in these plans will be a new marker to recognize the men from Lafayette County who served in the Union Army as part of the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War.

Within the walls of the cemetery, new headstones will be added to offer remembrance for the souls buried on the grounds along with a stone path to the existing marker in the cemetery. Cameras will be added in and around the University Cemetery to allow for continuous monitoring by the University Police Department.

This is a developing story. Check www.hottytoddy.com for updates.