Ole Miss Needs A Mascot

Colonel Reb shall not rise again. The University of Mississippi dumped the mascot – a caricature of a white plantation owner – in a 2003 effort to distance the school from Old South stereotypes. It’s been without a mascot ever since. A vote tonight could change that. Students will have only two choices in the online referendum: yes, replace the colonel with something else – perhaps a riverboat gambler or a colonial soldier – or no, remain the only school in the Southeastern Conference without a mascot. Ole Miss is battling with how to retain tradition while shedding symbols of Old South. In 1997, the school ended the waving of Confederate flags at sporting events. Then Colonel Reb was booted off the field. Last year, the band stopped playing the fight song, “From Dixie With Love,” to discourage the fan chant, “The South will rise again.”