Ole Miss seeks to silence ‘rising South’ chant
JACKSON, Miss. — The University of Mississippi has shortened one of its fight songs to discourage football fans from chanting “the South will rise again” during part of the tune, which critics say is an offensive reminder of the region’s intolerant past.
However, some fans have continued to recite the chant at the end of the song, “From Dixie With Love,” despite the change made last week at the chancellor’s request. The Ole Miss band performs the medley before and after games.
Earlier this month, the Ole Miss student government passed a resolution suggesting the chant be replaced by the phrase, “To hell with LSU.”
Dan Jones, who became Ole Miss chancellor in July, said he asked the school’s band director, David Wilson, to modify the song to support the efforts of the Associated Student Body. He said he has received complaints from alumni that the slogan is offensive.
“The fact is, the phrase ‘The South Will Rise Again’ is not part of our tradition or spirit, and it is inconsistent with the university’s values and what Ole Miss stands for – a great public university with a focus on the future,” Jones said in a phone interview Thursday from the campus in Oxford.
The modified version of the song ends abruptly before the chanting phase starts. It was first played Saturday at Ole Miss’s homecoming game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but that didn’t stop some fans from chanting.
Brian Ferguson, 26, head of the Colonel Reb Foundation, said he views the university actions as an attempt to silence students.
“I think it’s a big to-do about nothing. There were very few people other than the students who knew to say it,” said Ferguson, whose organization works to preserve traditions at Ole Miss. But Ferguson agreed that the chant really isn’t a tradition.
SportingNews.com
10/23/9
