Friday's Debate

Not that the venue of the debate really matters that much, but since The University of Mississippi is hosting the first one this Friday, I just wanted to comment (it's not often the state gets so much national press for a good reason):

When I was a senior at Ole Miss I had an interview with a magazine editor in New York for a story I was writing and the first two questions out of his mouth when I told him what school I attended were:

"Oh, that's the school where they don't let black people in, right," and "Do you really not wear shoes down there."

There was no sense of sarcasm or joking in his tone. I was baffled by his comments. Because for anyone that has ever attended or even visited the school, you would realize that while Ole Miss is a school that remembers it's past (and tries to learn from it), it is not a school that still lives in that past. And this was 2004, not 1964.

I am not saying the school is perfect by any stretch, but I echo the statement's made by Don Cole in a column that appeared in Mississippi's statewide newspaper The Clarion Ledger:

"People may come to Ole Miss with preconceived notions, but they are going to find a progressive university and good community," said Cole. "Because of my experiences here, I'm insistent on my voice being heard. The difference between 1968 and today is that the University of Mississippi is now also insistent that my voice be heard. That's what I hope these 3,000 reporters realize."

Monday, September 22, 2008