WMC-TV: News, Weather, Traffic, Radar, and Sports for Memphis, TN; WMCTV.com | Jones says Ole Miss fight song may be dropped
Member Center:
By Lori Brown - bio | email | Twitter | Facebook
Singing "From Dixie With Love" during football games is a tradition for Ole Miss football fans. But the school is about to drop one of their favorite fight songs, if the crowd doesn't stop a chant some consider racist.
The Chancellor of Ole Miss sent out a warning letter to Ole Miss fans who like to chant the phrase "the South will rise again" after a loved fight song.
The five word phrase means different things to different people. To Ole Miss student Sarah Connelly the phrase is about pride in the new South.
"Just like tradition and cheering for my football team," Connelly said. "Just being proud of the school I'm at."
To others the phrase evokes painful memories of a past many want to move beyond.
"When James Meredith integrated Ole Miss people used to say 'glory, glory, segregation, the south will rise again.' It was originally intended old south," Richard McKay, Vice President of the Associated Student Body said.
"The chant is actually not a long standing tradition. The Chancellor says fans only recently started chanting it from the stands.
The Chancellor of Ole Miss says fans only have one more chance, drop the chant, or lose the song that prompts it. The song, "From Dixie With Love" is an Ole Miss tradition.
"I like the song and associate it with the school," said Shelby Huff, who's been going to Ole Miss games for about 25 years. "I hate to see the song be cut out, but I do think the students should respect what they're being asked and quit doing it."
The Associated Student Body passed a resolution to promote a new phrase in its place, "To hell with LSU."
McKay says the student government decided only another edgy phrase would catch on with students.
"Really, it's just anything is better than what is currently happening," McKay said.
It appears the new phrase is already catching on.
"I am for to hell with LSU," Meredith Clayton, a freshman at Ole Miss said.
Chancellor Jones says the chant hurts recruiting and leads people to think the University is backward. He says donors are questioning if they can still support the school if the leadership allows the chant to continue.
The fans will have the final say, by what they say after "Dixie" on game day.
Copyright 2009 WMC-TV. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Comments Terms of Use: We welcome your participation in our community. Please keep your comments civil and on point. Notify us of any inappropriate comments by clicking the “Mark as Offensive” link. You must be at least 13 years of age to post comments. By submitting a comment, you agree to these
Terms of Service
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login or register See all comments |
Take turns weighing in on the issues of the day with WMC-TV General Manager Lee Meredith.
Find find out which restaurants scored low and which made the High 5 during recent inspections.
A collection of some of the most jaw dropping police dashcam video you've ever seen.
