OXFORD, Miss. — There’s controversy at the University of Mississippi over a confederate monument that’s stood in the center of the campus since 1906. Wednesday night, members of the Associated Student Body Senate approved a resolution on a 47 to 0 vote to have the statue relocated to a confederate cemetery on the Ole Miss campus.
“Oh, the statue sucks. I don’t even know why anybody would have that up here. That’s like, so insulting,” student Serenity Griffin said.
But there are some students who say the statue of a confederate soldier should be left alone.
“It’s been a part of the University for several generations at this point. I feel like it should continue to be part of the university,” student Jacob Rabren said.
Wednesday evening, the Associated Student Body Senate voted a resolution to have the statue moved. But Griffin says that doesn’t solve the problem.
“We don’t want it moved. We want it gone, period. Why would you move it? What’s the point in moving it if it’s still going to be there? Now, we’re just going to protest it over there,” she said.
One student told us off camera the statue should be moved to an area near the Lyceum, where a monument of James Meredith stands. Another student we talked with had very definite views on why the monument should stay where it is.
“As a veteran, I have strong feelings about soldiers. Regardless of what side they were on. Soldiers that fight and die for a cause, which this represents, deserved to be honored,” student Danny Nichols said.
The university sent out an email saying in part, “University leadership is aware of the resolution. We commend our students for using the democratic process to engage debate of topics that impact our community.”
