We Simply Cannot Afford to Forget
I am writing out of an increasing concern over what appears to be a resurrection of interest in the retired Colonel Rebel mascot and logo as official representatives of the University of Mississippi. I listened with apprehension last week as the announcers on Rebel Radio’s Hotty Toddy Hotline extolled the merits and perceived innocence of Colonel Rebel, with one of the guests amazingly saying, “Why the Colonel never really hurt anybody.”
I read with trepidation yesterday’s front page article in the DM, “Students react to trademarked Rebels Mascot” in which the two lead students interviewed, Warren Taylor and Zach Bingham, actually called for the return of Colonel Rebel as the University’s official mascot. It appears from the slant of this article by DM Senior Staff Reporter, Tim Summers, that the paper is actually favoring such a move, since there was absolutely no dissenting discussion or voice of reason offered in the article.
I am warning all of you students, faculty and alumni who really care about our great University and who are willing to sit up and listen, that what we are seeing here is the beginnings of an insidious case of contagious, cultural amnesia. It is as if these students have suddenly had their memories conveniently zapped and have completely forgotten how very hard it was to get where we are today at Ole Miss.
We simply cannot afford to forget. It is hard to believe that we must ask again that all who are pushing for the return of Colonel Rebel, please think about the consequences of what you are asking for, rescind your thoughtless request and put the interests of your University first. If you really love Ole Miss as you profess to do, then you must remember that there are many, many great things about our University that would not be in place had we continued the use of Colonel Rebel and the Confederate Battle Flag as our official symbols. There would be no Phi Beta Kappa chapter. There would be no Croft Institute for International Studies, no Trent Lott Leadership Institute, no Thad Cochran Center, no Barksdale Reading Institute, no Barksdale Honors College, no Gertrude Ford Center for the Performing Arts and no Presidential Debate. All of these great additions to our University were implemented only when the impeding caveat of Colonel Rebel was once and for all removed from our public image.
Let me conclude by stating that I love Ole Miss sports and tradition as much as anybody. I have loved Ole Miss for over 50 years now. I have waved the Rebel Flag and sung Dixie at the top of my lungs, but I have put these things aside now, because I know that it is the right thing to do. I too miss having a mascot and we certainly deserve to have one. We should begin this process immediately, but it should not include the Colonel. Do you really want to give other schools in the Southeastern Conference something to use against us in recruiting? Believe me, they do it. Just ask our coaches.
I humbly ask you all to accept that this is more than an argument about race, religion, culture or tradition. This is much bigger than that. It is about putting your University first. It is the noble thing to do and history will remember you well for it. Trust me, I’ve been there.
Sincerely,
N. Camp Best
1976 Alumni and current Graduate Student
1976 Alumni and current Graduate Student
