Ole Miss Losing Tradition

 In 2003 the Ole Miss Rebel's mascot,Colonel Rebel, was retired from the sidelines, and many students and fans were not happy. What happened to the good ole southern tradition that Ole Miss once had? First the confederate flag was taken away, which symbol is also part of the Mississippi flag. Then the Ole Miss fight song, "Dixie," was banned from all sporting events. 

Now the one and only,Colonel Rebel, has been replaced by the Black Bear. After over 1,000 mascot suggestions from students, falculty, and fans the Ole Miss Mascot Selection Committee choses a bear. How original is that? California, UCLA, Baylor, Maine, Mossouri State, and many more Universities have the same mascot. Also, wasn't the Black Bear chosen because of William Faulkner's novel, "The Bear," which was killed in the book? 

 The students of Ole Miss understand the racial situations of the past and respect them, but that was a long time ago. The majority of the new generation students that go to Ole Miss do not seem to care about what the Rebel used to represent back in the 50s and 60s. Most of athlethes that go to Ole Miss today are African American and before they committ here they know they would be playing for the "Rebels." 

 Al Ray, a former student at Ole Miss in the mid-70s said "When the Colonel Rebel mascot was first established in my generation at Ole Miss, it did not seem to bother anybody. Ben Williams, a former African American football player at that time, was selected by the student body as 'Mr. Colonel Rebel.'" 

The Colonel Rebel Foundation was formed in 2003 to help bring back the Ole Miss mascot. With help of the alumni and other donations, the foundation has raised money to buy fliers, stickers, and other things to help support Colonel Reb. Recently members of the foundation have been traveling around central and south parts of Mississippi to let the Rebel fans know what is going on. "We really want to get fans out there who are really passionate about Ole Miss football and the true Colonel Reb mascot," said the Colonel Rebel Foundation spokesman, Jon Rawl in "The Meridian Star." 

It is understandable to have this issue 20 or 30 years ago, but in this new era we should not lose all the great traditions that we grew up enjoying. There are some things that you have to put behind you, but to lose such a strong tradition like this one, is a tough peel to swallow. Who knows what will be taken next from Ole Miss? What traditions will we have left, from our generation, to enjoy with our kids?