THE DAILY
Wednesday September 6, 2017
Volume 106, No. 9
MISSISSIPPIAN 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
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Oxonians debate fate of Confederate statue Students assist hurricane victims BEN MIGHALL
S
STAFF WRITER
PHOTOS BY: BILLY SCHUERMAN
A Confederate statue stands in front of the courthouse on the Square.
RACHEL ISHEE NEWS EDITOR
The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors met with a packed room Tuesday night to discuss the possible relocation of a Confederate memorial statue in Oxford. A total of four people spoke, two for and two against moving the memorial, voicing their opinions on what Lafayette County should do with the statue. Before the discussion began, Board President Jeff Busby said no decision would be made that night. “No decision is going to be made on this tonight,” Busby said. “We are going to take it under advisement after we hear from the people that want to speak, and then we are going to make the best decision that the five of us can with the input of the county, as well.” Oxford resident Effie Burt was the first speaker and
shared why she believed the statue should be moved. She opened with an anecdotal story about telling her daughter that Santa Claus was real. One day her daughter came home angry, wondering why her mother never told her the whole truth about Santa. “My question to you is: Did your parents tell you the whole truth about what that Confederate flag meant, the statues … Did your parents tell you the whole truth, or did they just tell you some of it?”
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We will be seeking opinions from people in the community as we go forward.” -Board President Jeff Busby
She then condemned the actions of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. “[Gen. Lee] fought to keep many black people as slaves, and we all know that,” Burt said. “The Confederate monuments were mostly built during the 1900s through 1930. That was a time when there was lynching and racist groups, like
OPINION
the KKK, who ran my mama and her parents out of Lafayette County because my daddy refused to obey an order from a white man.” Burt offered a solution to move the statue to a place where it could be seen by those who want to see it. “There are museums all over the country,” Burt said. “I feel that we should move the Confederate flag and the Confederate monuments into a museum where they can be appreciated by those who feel that they were not oppressed by them
NEWS
like I feel like I was.” Jerry Bratton, a war veteran and Oxford resident, opened his argument against removing the statue by explaining his view of it. “I feel that this statue is basically for our veterans,” Bratton said. “It’s been there for over 100 years, and I don’t think that the little guy has raped
anybody; I don’t think that he’s sold drugs or anything like that.” He also questioned the race of the statue. “You don’t know if it wasn’t made after a black man or a white man because both black and white fought,” he said. Bratton ended his remarks by addressing the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Hurricane Irma heading toward land. “We are here in Oxford, Mississippi, upset about a concrete statue that’s been there for over 100 years,” he said. “I just think we got more to do in life than to worry about something like this.” While a decision is not going to be made right away, Busby welcomed the opinions of all residents. “We’re going to take what everyone said under advisement,” Busby said. “We will be seeking opinions from people in the community as we go forward. We’re not going to make a decision [tonight], but we will keep everyone informed of what we’re doing and how we are going to go about things.”
IN THIS ISSUE...
LIFESTYLES
Can you politicize a hurricane?
Third provost candidate presents
XXXTentacion’s debut album
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Why trying to fit disasters to political beliefs is disrespectful, uncompassionate and impossible
Jeffrey Thompson discusses how he’d work to build a better future for Ole Miss
‘17’ reveals rapper’s disdain for himself in only 22 minutes
tudent organizations around campus are pioneering relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Harvey by raising money and gathering supplies. The University of Mississippi’s Rebel Relief Disaster Fund will donate money to relief efforts in Houston. That fund focuses on providing dollars and cents instead of supplies because organizers said they believe the money will go further to helping storm victims than supplies that could go to waste. For now, students affected by the storm can contact the Office of Leadership and Advocacy for help recovering. Psychology major Cayla Hari and political science major Savannah Maas spearheaded their own Rebel Relief initiative in conjunction with their sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. The initiative includes ways for members of the public to contribute through both monetary donations and supply drop-offs at multiple places around campus. Hari said the initiative has raised almost $3,000 from its GoFundMe page alone. $1,000 will be used to purchase supplies for the victims of Harvey, and $2,000 will be donated to the Houston Food Bank. The duo also designed a Rebel Relief shirt, with $8 of each purchase benefiting relief efforts. Hari and Maas will be leading a group of volunteers from Rebel Relief to Houston this weekend to drop off supplies. Rebel Relief is working with numerous partners, including campus Greek organizations. Each Greek house on campus set up their own donation boxes in which students can drop off supplies for the people of Houston. The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College is also running a donation box at the Honors College on campus.
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SPORTS
Moore twins, more success Separated by injury in 2016, C.J. and A.J. Moore are ready to make an impact
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