Ole Miss Chancellor Responds as Support Grows for Relocation of Confederate Monument

Updated (3/7/2019, 9:59 p.m.) with comment from the university and results of the Faculty Senate vote.

Two weeks after a pro-Confederate rally rattled the University of Mississippi’s campus, the Associated Student Body Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday in support of removing a statue of a Confederate soldier from the center of the campus.

The growing movement to excise a prominent piece of Confederate iconography in Mississippi suggests that such efforts may remain strong even in the Deep South, where such symbols are legion. It was only two and a half years ago that the university’s marching band stopped playing “Dixie” at football games.

Last month two political groups — Confederate 901 and the Hiwaymen — led a rally through Oxford, Miss., to protest the university’s decision to to drop the Colonel Reb mascot and other efforts to distance itself from Confederate history. Their march ended on the Ole Miss campus in front of a monument to an unnamed Confederate soldier.

As this happened, eight members of the university’s men’s basketball team took a knee during the national anthem to protest the demonstration.

On Tuesday the student government, known as the Associated Student Body Senate, voted, 47 to 0, in support of moving the statue to a nearby cemetery on university grounds.

Following the vote, the interim chancellor, Larry D. Sparks, said in a written statement on Thursday that the relocation was an “important decision and issue for our university.” The student newspaper, The Daily Mississippian, reported that this was the first time Sparks had commented on the statue’s possible removal.

“We appreciate the thoughtful and deliberate consideration that the student groups have given to formulating, debating, and passing their resolutions recommending relocation of the monument,” Sparks said.

Rod Guajardo, associate director of strategic communications, said late Thursday that the student-led resolution would be reviewed by Associated Student Body leaders before being shared for acknowledgment with university officials.

“As an institution of higher learning, we rely on a model of shared governance, of which the Associated Student Body is one constituency. We commend the ASB Senate for using the democratic process to engage in debate of topics that impact our community,” Guajardo said.

Because the monument is a historical landmark, the university would have to first consult with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and provide justification that the cemetery would be a suitable location, Sparks said in the statement. The university would then need to submit an agenda item to the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi State Institutions of Higher Learning, he said.

The Rise and Fall of Silent Sam

Silent Sam, a statue of a Confederate soldier, dominated the main entrance of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than a century, despite decades of protests. But suddenly, in August 2018, the statue was yanked down by protesters. And in January 2019 the campus’s chancellor, Carol L. Folt, removed the statue’s pedestal and other remnants. Here’s how Silent Sam moved from dominance to disappearance.

• UNC’s Silent Sam Settlement Sparked a Backlash. Now a Judge Has Overturned the Deal.
• UNC’s Silent Sam Settlement Was Reached Quickly. The Blowback Might Last Longer.

The Faculty Senate voted on Thursday in favor of relocating the statue to the nearby cemetery, according to The Daily Mississippian.

“That the statue and its placement provide an unwelcome reminder to many in our community of a difficult past based upon inequality, a past that permeates the present in ways that are inconsistent with the values espoused in the Creed, is undeniable,” Brice Noonan, the chair of the body, told the newspaper, referencing the university’s statement of ethics.

The Graduate Student Council Senate was the first group to pass a resolution calling for the statue’s relocation, on Monday. After Thursday’s vote, the Staff Council is the only campus government organization that has yet to formally weigh in on the issue, according to the student newspaper.

Sparks said in his statement that the university would consider any new resolutions once they were received.

Follow Zipporah Osei on Twitter at @zipporahosei, or email her at zipporah.osei@chronicle.com.