"Ole Miss": A Case for the Name's Removal and Steps Toward Implementation

The purpose of this project is to provide one justification of why the University of Mississippi should cease its usage of its nickname, “Ole Miss,” and provide insight into what the next steps of the University should be. “Ole Miss” is a term that was installed with the intention of romanticizing the social order that the system of slavery provided in the Antebellum South. The attitudes toward plantation society that the name perpetuates pose several forms of harm to members of the University’s community. Institutions of higher learning maintain a special relationship with their students, which presents a strong obligation to protect them from harm. Therefore, the University should remove the name “Ole Miss.” It is, however, important to make the transition away from the name as seamless as possible. This requires ensuring that the University’s community is aware of the harm that the name presents. In order to determine whether students are aware of the origin of “Ole Miss” and initiate a shift away from its usage, a survey of a sample of the student body was conducted. Students were not only asked about their awareness of the name’s origin, but also their general feelings toward the name and how likely they would be to accept a change. The results of this study indicate that the student body generally views the name in a positive manner and do not understand the ways in which the name is harmful. Thus, the first step toward removing the name “Ole Miss” should be to make its community aware of its origin and the harm associated with it to ensure that the removal is as smooth and successful as possible.