The Daily Mississippian - January 23, 2019

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THE DAILY

W E D N ES DAY, JA N UA RY 2 3 , 2 0 1 9 | VO LU M E 1 07, N O. 5 6

MISSISSIPPIAN

T H E S T U DE N T N E W S PA P E R O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I S S I S S I P P I | S E R V I N G O L E M I S S A N D OX F O R D S I N C E 1 9 1 1

WELCOME BACK, REBELS!

OLE MISS

New year, newspaper.

ALABAMA

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Be sure to pick up the print edition every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, subscribe to our newsletter and check thedmonline.com to stay in the loop this semester.

REBELS FALL TO CRIMSON TIDE

See thedmonline.com for full coverage of last night’s loss in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels hope to rebound against Iowa State at home Saturday.

change Strides of

Retiring after 25 years, Donald Cole will be remembered for his heart, humor and fast pace toward progress.

FILE PHOTO: ARIEL COBBERT

Assistant Provost and Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Donald Cole retired from the University of Mississippi on January 15.

TAYLOR VANCE

THEDMNEWS@GMAIL.COM

Donald Cole was a student at the University of Mississippi six years after the university’s first black student, James Meredith, was admitted to the university — a time when black students had little to no rights on campus. Cole, who retired last week from his positions as an Assistant Provost and mathematics professor, has seen and

pushed for many sweeping reforms on campus to make it more inviting for minority students. “I love the university, and I have worked very diligently and very hard with the university to make it a better place for others,” Cole said. “I have made a lot of personal sacrifices for the university to make it a university of the 21st century.” Cole sacrificed his college career when he and many other black stu-

dents protested the treatment of black students in 1968. He marched on the chancellor’s lawn and presented him a list of demands. The demands included hiring black faculty and staff members, recognizing the Black Student Union as an organization, integrating The Daily Mississippian staff and recruiting black athletes. The protest resulted in Cole and seven other students being arrested

and expelled from the university. “(Being arrested) was horrible,” he said. “I came to the university to get a degree. There were a lot of people who had supported me. I come and in a little over a year, I had been dismissed. I couldn’t get in any other state institution. I was in jail for the first time in my life.” Sparky Reardon, the former dean

SEE COLE PAGE 4

University removes Meek’s name from Farley Hall HADLEY HITSON

THEDMNEWS@GMAIL.COM

The university has officially removed Ed Meek’s name from Farley Hall, leaving an open space for a new namesake of the School of Journalism and New Media. The removal took place during winter break, when most faculty and students were away from campus. While many faculty members are unsure of the exact date that Meek’s name was removed, Assistant Dean of the

School of Journalism and New Media Jennifer Simmons said she believes it happened on Dec. 17 or 18. The name came down following months of discussion after Meek published a post on Facebook that members of the Oxford and Ole Miss community condemned as racist. One solution the university devised to mend relations after the Meek controversy began last September was the Common Ground Committee, which is

composed of faculty members. Simmons serves as the committee chairperson. “Our charge was never to come up with a process or a new name for the school,” Simmons said. “Making sure that all students felt included as well as making it a welcoming environment so people know that this one situation doesn’t define the school as a whole, that’s the committee’s focus.” The first recommendation made by the committee was to

offer implicit bias training for the journalism school faculty. The training was conducted by Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Community Engagement Katrina Caldwell the week before classes began. “The committee is working on making more suggestions to the dean about things that, as a faculty, we could do within the classroom to encourage inclusion, acceptability and open-mindedness while still reserving people’s right to free

speech,” Simmons said. Now that Meek’s name has been officially removed from the school, Simmons said, the committee is planning to cut back its weekly meetings to bi-monthly in order to give its members time to draft final committee recommendations for Will Norton, the Dean of the School of Journalism and New Media, by April. Meek publicly responded to the removal of his name in an-

SEE MEEK PAGE 4


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