JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Colonel Reb shall not rise again. That much is certain.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 Tuesday 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.In a world where football is akin to religion, and sports symbolism carries the power of a totem, this is no small matter. Stories about the upcoming vote have run prominently in the campus newspaper for weeks, along with “Save Colonel Reb” advertisements.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.”Richard McKay, vice president of the Associated Student Body, said he received some hate e-mail about the vote.”We’ve gotten a lot of input whether it was asked for or not,” said McKay, who is white. “A lot of students are afraid that as soon as we have a new mascot, everyone will forget about Colonel Reb.”Still, Colonel Reb hasn’t disappeared altogether from the university. Ole Miss holds the license to the image so it’s still on bumper stickers, lapel pins and other merchandise on display at Rebel games.—–Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at [email protected]
Athletics: Mascotless Ole Miss to vote on Col. Reb successor
February 22, 2010