A family forgotten

Forty-nine years ago today, the University of Mississippi was going through the worst of times. James Meredith had just been admitted to the university, causing tension that we as students in this day and age cannot possibly imagine. 

Forty-nine years ago was homecoming week. The homecoming game against the University of Houston was supposed to be played in Oxford. In fear of more brawls and protests breaking out due to an influx of people, Chancellor J.D. Williams was advised by U.S. Secretary of State Robert S. McNamara to relocate the game to Jackson and to cancel all homecoming activities. Forty-nine years ago, U.S. Marshals were patrolling campus to maintain stability and sanity.

The James Meredith situation separated the Ole Miss family, literally. Until very recently, the Ole Miss family was one. Aside from my own family, Ole Miss gives me the best family I could ever want, and I thank God for that every day. 

We may not lead the nation in every category as far as colleges are concerned, but you can bet on the fact that we have one of the most closely-knit families in the country.

Today, we are not one. We have allowed certain circumstances to split us. We are not dealing with racism or immorality. We aren’t rioting in front of the Lyceum. We aren’t withdrawing from school. However, we are doing something just as destructive — we are giving up on Ole Miss, and we are giving up on the very family that we have come to love so much.

Point fingers at Dan Jones, Pete Boone or Houston Nutt. Sell your season tickets. Complain about our athletic facilities. Run accusatory advertisements in newspapers. Do those things and you aren’t in my family.

What exactly are we accomplishing by doing this? 

For starters, we are showing our players and fellow fans that they are the scum of the world. Also, by doing these childish things, we are showing the rest of the world that we don’t believe in ourselves. 

To me, this week is one of the saddest weeks in the history of Ole Miss. Not because of our football team’s performance, but because of the way the Ole Miss family is handling it. This week was the first time I have ever been embarrassed to be in this family. This absolutely cannot continue. Instead of dwelling on and whining about how things should be, let’s get things to where they should be. 

First, do not give up on this team. Second, do not give up on the administration. Sometimes it takes a bad experience to grow. We will grow from this. In fact, we can speed up the growing process by acting as a family again instead of selfish individuals. 

We have come a very long way in 49 years. The James Meredith situation was much worse than this, but we grew because of it. We will get past these rough times.

The first step to moving on is the Georgia game on Saturday. Go to the game and support this team. Show your support for the administration. They need it now more than ever. 

Do not dwell on the past; instead, do what you need to do now in order to create a better future. Let’s turn these sad times into happy times. Let’s get this family back on the right track. Let’s be proud of our Ole Miss.