Ole Miss, flag: How it came down

OXFORD — Early Monday morning, the University of Mississippi administration ordered the removal of the state flag from campus grounds, making the school the fourth public university in the state to cease flying the state flag, which includes the Confederate battle emblem in its upper left corner.

Jackson State University, Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University, all historically black universities, have long not flown the flag.

At 7 a.m. university police officers quietly furled the state banner after lowering it from the pole it shared with the American flag in the university circle; the public wasn’t notified of the university’s action until later. The flag will now be placed in the university’s archives, along with resolutions passed in recent weeks by staff, faculty and student government bodies calling for its removal.

Sophomore Allen Coon of Petal, who had been heavily involved with a student-led initiative to remove the flag, said he was disappointed that the university had not alerted anyone of the flag’s removal until after it had been taken down.

“We would’ve appreciated a moment to celebrate with our supporters, but we could understand why the administration would handle it this way,” he said.

John Brahan, vice president of the Associated Student Body, said he was surprised that the university’s administration had acted so quickly. “It is refreshing to know that they are listening to us and that (ASB) can speak on behalf of the students who are promoting change.”

Andrew Soper, of Tupelo, who had started a petition to keep the state flag on campus, believes that the university’s actions are a “slap in the face to the people of Mississippi.”

Soper, who says he isn’t opposed to a new state flag, said the university should continue to fly the state flag since the school receives state funding.

At a noon press conference Monday, University of Mississippi interim Chancellor Morris Stocks explained the reasoning behind the administration’s decision to remove the flag. In a meeting Friday and another lasting three hours on Sunday, Stocks discussed the flag’s presence on campus and the controversy surrounding it with his leadership team, which unanimously agreed to remove the flag from campus. Citing recent protests and counter-protests, one of which had been staged in part by non-student Ku Klux Klan members, Stocks decided that the flag should be taken down quietly early Monday morning and “without fanfare.”

Stocks informed Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn about the administration’s decision, which the three state leaders received most graciously, said Stocks.

“We appreciate our state leadership, and we do not mean this in any form of disrespect for our state,” said Stocks. “We love our state and we’re proud to be a part of the state of Mississippi. But we believe for us to accomplish our academic mission this was the right move at the right time.”

Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and athletics director Ross Bjork both said they stood behind Stocks’ decision at their weekly sports news conference held Monday. Former Gov. William Winter expressed his support for the university’s actions, saying, “as an alumnus of Ole Miss, I join in a strong expression of appreciation and approval to Chancellor Stocks for his decision regarding the flying of the state flag at Ole Miss.”

Stocks also said that he spoke with Jeff Vitter, who was recently named the “preferred candidate” for the university’s chancellorship, Monday morning about the state flag and that Vitter understood the administration’s reasoning for taking the flag down. Stocks said the university is “better off” by removing the state flag before Vitter, who visits campus Thursday, arrives.

Amid the controversy surrounding the state flag, there have been questions as to whether state law requires institutions of higher learning to fly the flag.

Bryant provided The Clarion-Ledger with a statement Monday in which he said that publicly funded institutions should respect Mississippi law, since it grants the state flag “all the respect and ceremonious etiquette given the American flag.”

According to Section 37-13-13 of Mississippi law, the flag “shall be displayed in close proximity to the school building at all times during the hours of daylight when the school is in session when the weather will permit without damage to the flag.” The section, which goes on to state, “It shall be the duty of the board of trustees of the school district to provide for the flags and their display,” does not reference institutions of higher learning.

In a statement sent by email to The Clarion-Ledger, Lee Tyner, general counsel for the University of Mississippi, wrote, “Our legal research has not turned up any law that applies to the display of the state flag at public universities and other state agencies. We are hopeful that state leaders will hear the growing call for change and create a new flag.”

Lee further wrote, “As interim Chancellor Stocks has said, ‘Our state needs a flag that speaks to who we are. It should represent the wonderful attributes about our state that unite us, not those that still divide us.’”

Throughout the day Monday, students stopped to notice or take pictures of the state flag’s absence from the school’s flag pole. One of those students, Ike Harris, an Ole Miss senior, said, “The students and faculty handled the conversation in an excellent manner, and even if the administration had chosen not to take down the state flag, I still would have been impressed with the respect everyone showed for each other.”

Clarion-Ledger reporters Bracey Harris, Harold Gater and Jerry Mitchell contributed reporting from Jackson and Clarion-Ledger correspondent Bill Barksdale from Oxford.

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