THE DAILY
MISSISSIPPIAN
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
T H E S T U D E 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
Volume 103, No. 26
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Page 4
Page 2
Page 7
Bird is the word: Ole Miss Birders take flight
Tracing the axis of Ole Miss
Why Saturday can change Ole Miss football
Sons of Confederate Veterans files petition against UM LACEY RUSSELL
dmeditor@gmail.com
The Mississippi Division Sons of Confederate Veterans has filed a petition for injunction against The University of Mississippi in hopes of deterring the street name change from Confederate Drive to Chapel Lane. Natchez attorney Holmes Sturgeon, alumnus of The University of Mississippi Law School and legal representative of the organization, filed the petition Sept. 18 in Lafayette County Chancery Court. “The purpose of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is to see that the memory of the Confederate soldiers is kept alive,” Sturgeon told The Daily Mississippian in a telephone interview. “Therefore, there is no real compromising on issues like this, in my opinion.” Allen Terrell, former Ole Miss student and current resident of Natchez, is the direct descendant of two Civil War veterans – both of his greatgreat grandfathers fought and died while serving as privates in the Confederate army. Today, Terrell said he respects his ancestors by serving as Mississippi Division Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. “We don’t necessarily celebrate the war,” Terrell ex-
PHOTO BY: THOMAS GRANING
Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans host a memorial service at the Confederate cemetary on campus on May 4. The organization has filed a petition for a legal injunction against The University of Mississippi as a result of recent street name changes. plained of his organization. “We realize that was a bad time. It was a pivotal time in our history, but we honor and celebrate the men that fought for the cause which they believed at that time was right.” As a result of the discriminatory incidents that occurred on campus over the last few
years, Chancellor Dan Jones released an action plan in August for cultivating a more inclusive environment at the university. The six-fold strategy included changing the name of the one-block street known as Confederate Drive to Chapel Lane. “The chancellor is trying to
make the university an extremely diverse and welcoming place,” Terrell said. “He appears to be isolating groups like ours though – Mississippians that care about their Southern heritage. Why don’t we get to figure into this diversity? “If you’re going to be di-
verse, is it just diversity for minorities? I mean diversity encompasses everybody.” Both Terrell and Sturgeon believe renaming Confederate Drive is in direct violation of a state statute that says no monuments or memorials
SEE PETITION PAGE 3
SPECIAL TO THE DM
Tre Amici challenges city rooftop-dining restrictions MADISEN THEOBALD
mrtheoba@go.olemiss.edu
The owners of Tre Amici and Lamar Lounge were researching the City of Oxford land ordinances when they discovered a loophole in one of the laws – a loophole that would permit rooftop venues. The discovery led to a battle between the Board of Aldermen and several restaurant owners. Restaurants began filling out permits for rooftop venues and delivering them to Oxford City Hall. The Board of Aldermen discovered last spring they accidentally left out a land
ordinance that restricted commercial use of rooftops more than 50 years old. Earlier this fall, the Board of Aldermen unanimously readopted this rooftop restriction, to the dismay of businesses Tre Amici and Lamar Lounge. “Not many buildings were planning on doing rooftops because most of them have balconies and it is a lot of expense to do a rooftop,” said Randy Barber, city of Oxford building manager since 2005. “There is a lot more to it then just opening up your roof.” The adopted restrictions apply to older buildings and to newer buildings. While old-
er buildings are banned from having rooftop venues, newer buildings with rooftops need six-foot walls around the borders of the building. Barber said two new hotels will have rooftop venues and currently the only other building with a rooftop would be the Oxford University Club. He believes there is an increasing number of rooftop venues with all the new construction and buildings coming to Oxford. Lamar Lounge, located on 309 N Lamar Blvd., has already constructed a rooftop dinning area, that will open to the public later this fall. According to Taariq David,
general manager at Lamar Lounge, what will become of the rooftop is still uncertain. “We are just now getting seating up there, so the next step is to go over what it will be used for with the owners,” David said. Barber was not aware Lamar Lounge had a rooftop bar, but acknowledged it was built within the last three or four years and could possibly have a rooftop venue. Tre Amici, located at 1107 Jackson Ave., has been drawing up plans, speaking with contractors and communicating with the Oxford Historic Preservation Commission to
attempt to overrule the restriction on older buildings. “It’s doable. They and other buildings would have to meet all the building codes such as exits, stairs and structural elements,” Barber said. “Tre Amici already put in an application, and now they have to meet the criteria and get a sprinkler.” The Board of Aldermen agrees this type of reconstruction would cause these establishments to retrofit their entire buildings. Most buildings on the Square have common walls, so this would also cause other buildings to undergo
SEE TRE AMICI PAGE 3