White Power Symbols
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THE Daily MISSISSIPPIAN Friday, November 22, 2019 theDMonline.com Volume 108, No. 39 DANIEL PAYNE [email protected] Boyce Homophobic slurs yelled at students, racist vandalism across campus, white power symbols displayed in photos and a professor misses telling a student to drop out of school because of a medical condition are some of the 26 incidents of bias that were reported to the university during the 2018-19 school year. The details of the incidents — sent to the Bias Incidents Response JPS Team (BIRT), which receives and responds to reports of bias at the university — were obtained by The Daily Mississippian in a public records request. On average, a report was filed every eight days during KENNETH NIEMEYER the fall and spring semesters. [email protected] The reports offer a look into the interactions that make some feel unwelcome or unsafe on campus, from swastikas being carved in The Ole Miss Office of bathroom stalls to drinks being thrown at students while homophobic Admissions weighed in on REPORTS OF slurs are shouted at them. Twitter after tweets surfaced In one instance, a fraternity displays a group photo in which showing that Chancellor Glenn 26 Boyce visited several private someone is expressing a white power sign in their right hand. A few days after that report was sent to BIRT, another was sent reporting a schools in the Jackson area, but white power sign being displayed in a class photo. did not visit any of the predom- In another report, a professor tells a student that she should inantly black public schools drop out of classes and come back later in life to finish her there. degree because of the student’s health problems. Social media posts from One student reported Jackson Academy, Jackson experiencing multiple Preparatory School and Madi- RACISM incidents of bias in son-Ridgeland Academy show the first weeks of Boyce speaking with students the semester. The on the respective campuses. The student reported Office of Admissions confirmed WHITE POWER SYMBOLS being profiled by on Twitter that Boyce also residence life front desk visited Germantown, Clinton, staff and by the University Madison Central, Northwest Police Department (UPD) after Rankin and Ridgeland high being pulled over for not using his schools in the Jackson metro headlights. The K-9 unit searched the area and St. Joseph Catholic vehicle and several backup officers came School and St. Andrew’s Epis- HOMOPHOBIA to the scene, according to the report. UPD copal School in Madison. did not respond to requests for comment. Three of the seven high Among the reports is the incident of three schools in the Jackson Public members of the university community posing School District — Forest Hill, with guns for a photo in front of a bullet-riddled Jim Hill and Wingfield — said Emmett Till memorial. The incident was reported that the university has not to BIRT on March 7, and the Mississippi Center for made contact with them to set Investigative Reporting (MCIR) reported on the incident up a visit from Boyce. Murrah, MISOGYNY Callaway and Provine could not on July 25. After this incident was publicly reported, a process to make changes to BIRT began. be reached for comment, and The number of BIRT reports has increased since the 2013-14 Lanier High School did not academic year, during which 16 incidents were reported. Reports confirm if the university had peaked during the 2016-17 year with 35 incidents. BIRT reports do contacted them. PROFILING A communications spokes- not account for reports made only to other entities on campus, such as UPD or Equal Opportunity & Regulatory Compliance. person for JPS said he could “More (reports) is not always a bad thing,” Katrina Caldwell, vice not confirm whether or not chancellor for diversity and community engagement, said. the school district had been She said that more reports often mean that people feel more contacted by the university to comfortable using the resources for them on campus. She also said plan future visits from Boyce. that in her time at the university, there have not been any reports that A university spokesperson were not supported by evidence upon investigation. said that the Office of Admis- ABLEISM sions scheduled all of the “I think raising awareness gives us an opportunity to address it, and so I want to make it clear that more (reports) is not an indication that chancellor’s high school visits there’s more bias in our community,” she said. “We’re not capturing all months before he was selected of the bias in our community.” for the position and that he is BIRT receives reports of bias on campus, works to educate groups continuing to add more high and shares the information with other university entities, like the school visits to his schedule. SLURS University Police Department, Judicial Conduct, Equal Opportunity They did not answer whether and Regulatory Compliance and the vice chancellor for diversity and or not Boyce would plan to visit community engagement. JPS schools in the future. “BIRT doesn’t punish,” Caldwell said. “(Education) is its only Jackson Mayor Chokwe function.” Antar Lumumba said that BIAS SEE BIAS PAGE 4 SEE BOYCE PAGE 12 GREEK ORGANIZATIONS REBRAND CHASE PURDY: OLE MISS’ College Panhellenic, Interfraternity NASCAR PROTIGY Council and National Pan-Hellenic Purdy, now a first-year student at Council have all removed the Ole Miss, took a year-long hiatus term “Ole Miss” from their official from stock car racing, but is ready names in an effort to create a to get back behind the wheel. more inclusive environment. SEE PAGE 9 SEE PAGE 2 PAGE 2 | THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 22 NOVEMBER 2019 Greek organizations move away from ‘Ole Miss’ brand of Fraternal Leadership and holders,” said Arthur Doctor, consistent with the FLL and systems. IFC fraternities can MASON SCIONEAUX Learning (FLL) by student lead- director of the FLL. the university at-large, which still use the “Ole Miss” name [email protected] ership, and comes before the Doctor added that the deci- uses “University of Mississippi” and brand themselves as they results of the External Review sion to remove “Ole Miss” from name. choose. The University of Missis- Team are released spring 2020 the Greek organizational names “The Interfraternity Coun- Doctor said that with his sippi’s National Pan-Hellenic to present an external review of was a decision made inde- cil made a decision to change work as the FLL director, he Council, College Panhellenic the Greek community, accord- pendently from the FLL. The our social media handles to be hopes to create a more inclusive and Interfraternity Council ing to the FLL website. Interfraternity Council (IFC) consistent with the branding Greek system that prioritizes have all removed “Ole Miss” “I believe the external review made the decision. that is currently used by the inclusivity and engagement. from their official names and will allow the Fraternal Lead- “This was a student-led deci- Office of Fraternal Leadership “I work very closely with instead are opting for “Univer- ership and Learning team to sion, and the Office of Frater- and Learning, the logos we my staff and student leaders sity of Mississippi.” develop our strategic vision for nal Leadership and Learning have on our website and other to identify additional opportu- This decision was made the next few years in conjunc- respects the leadership of our documents,” Barnhill said. nities to engage more students independently from the Office tion with all of our stake- governing councils to make “Our logos utilize the Lyceum within fraternities and soror- decisions they feel will make branding for the university, and ities and to ensure that this is 28259 a positive impact on their we felt that this created a more a place where every student community,” he said. consistent image.” feels welcomed, affirmed and IFC President Cole Barnhill However, the change is not respected, whether they choose said that this change focused a mandate to all fraternities to affiliate with a chapter or on keeping their branding and sororities within the three not,” he said. 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JOSHUA CLAYTON sports editor [email protected] 916 E JACKSON AVE, OXFORD, MS 38655 (662) 638-3580 HOTWORX.NET/OXFORD 28218 THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN | 22 NOVEMBER 2019 | PAGE 3 The Mayfield Lyceum’s speaks to revolving IHL Board KENNETH NIEMEYER door [email protected] ASB President Barron Mayfield said that Chancellor Glenn Boyce GRIFFIN NEAL was capable even though the [email protected] search process was destructive to the university at a campus update When Melinda Sutton to the Institutions of Higher Learn- Noss, former university dean ing Board of Trustees at its meeting of students, was transitioning on Thursday. out of her role last spring, she of university leadership is not “It is an exciting, interesting remarked that if a new chancel- reserved only to the highest-pay- time to be a student at the Univer- lor were to be hired before she ing leadership position in higher sity of Mississippi,” Mayfield said.