• Apply
  • Archives
  • NewsWatch
  • Classifieds
  • Multimedia
    • Ole Miss in Puerto Rico
    • Campus Protests
    • The Queen of Marks
    • Meet Aubrey Armstrong, a Real Champion and Local Celebrity
    • Mississippi voters passed Initiative 65. What’s next?
    • One year later: COVID-19 at Ole Miss
    • “It’s Just Not Fair”: One Woman’s Fight For Access to Community Water
    • A way with words
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Mississippian
  • News
    UM launches creative writing program

    UM launches creative writing program

    Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

    Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

    Eat up, Rebs: UM expands dining options on campus

    Eat up, Rebs: UM expands dining options on campus

    ASB Senate prioritizes transparency, passes bill

    ASB Senate prioritizes transparency, passes bill

    Can’t find a parking spot? Here’s why

    Can’t find a parking spot? Here’s why

    Reduce, reuse, recycle with RebelTHON

    Reduce, reuse, recycle with RebelTHON

  • Sports
    • All
    • Game Recap
    Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ nail-biter in College Station

    Player Spotlight: Quinshon Judkins promises to ramp things up

    Newbies take over Ole Miss ​Club​ Hockey team

    Newbies take over Ole Miss ​Club​ Hockey team

    Football realigns conferences, but at what cost?

    Football realigns conferences, but at what cost?

    Player Spotlight: Jaxson Dart beats skeptics

    Player Spotlight: Jaxson Dart beats skeptics

    Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ disappointing loss to Alabama

    Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ disappointing loss to Alabama

    Ole Miss fails to live up to hype, loses to Bama on the road

    Ole Miss fails to live up to hype, loses to Bama on the road

  • Arts & Culture
    Iris Room passes the mic to local artists

    Iris Room passes the mic to local artists

    Strutting toward success: Career Center Fashion Show comes to campus

    Strutting toward success: Career Center Fashion Show comes to campus

    Sleepy Cactus introduces game day dinner events 

    Sleepy Cactus introduces game day dinner events 

    STEM students revive academic journal club

    STEM students revive academic journal club

  • Opinion
    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    How an ATV wreck saved my life

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    Casual drug use runs rampant across campus

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    Press on, Presley

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    K-12 students cheated in falsified tests scandal

  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact
  • News
    UM launches creative writing program

    UM launches creative writing program

    Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

    Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

    Eat up, Rebs: UM expands dining options on campus

    Eat up, Rebs: UM expands dining options on campus

    ASB Senate prioritizes transparency, passes bill

    ASB Senate prioritizes transparency, passes bill

    Can’t find a parking spot? Here’s why

    Can’t find a parking spot? Here’s why

    Reduce, reuse, recycle with RebelTHON

    Reduce, reuse, recycle with RebelTHON

  • Sports
    • All
    • Game Recap
    Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ nail-biter in College Station

    Player Spotlight: Quinshon Judkins promises to ramp things up

    Newbies take over Ole Miss ​Club​ Hockey team

    Newbies take over Ole Miss ​Club​ Hockey team

    Football realigns conferences, but at what cost?

    Football realigns conferences, but at what cost?

    Player Spotlight: Jaxson Dart beats skeptics

    Player Spotlight: Jaxson Dart beats skeptics

    Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ disappointing loss to Alabama

    Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ disappointing loss to Alabama

    Ole Miss fails to live up to hype, loses to Bama on the road

    Ole Miss fails to live up to hype, loses to Bama on the road

  • Arts & Culture
    Iris Room passes the mic to local artists

    Iris Room passes the mic to local artists

    Strutting toward success: Career Center Fashion Show comes to campus

    Strutting toward success: Career Center Fashion Show comes to campus

    Sleepy Cactus introduces game day dinner events 

    Sleepy Cactus introduces game day dinner events 

    STEM students revive academic journal club

    STEM students revive academic journal club

  • Opinion
    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    How an ATV wreck saved my life

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    Casual drug use runs rampant across campus

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    Press on, Presley

    My Blackness isn’t on a schedule

    K-12 students cheated in falsified tests scandal

  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Mississippian
No Result
View All Result

Editor-in-Chief Farewell

Rabria MoorebyRabria Moore
April 20, 2023
Reading Time: 3 mins read

When thinking about what I would write for my farewell address, I thought about a traditional farewell telling you all how much I’ve enjoyed this experience and how much I’ll miss serving in this position. I also thought about the journalistic farewell in which I would tell you how much I love storytelling and explain to you how a newspaper works. But I think you all know all of those things, so I’ve decided to go a different route. 

My experience at this university and as editor-in-chief of The Daily Mississippian has largely been shaped by my identity as a Black woman — partly because Ole Miss is defined by its racial history and partly because the university celebrated the 60th anniversary of integration during the 2022-23 school term (October 2022). In this farewell address, I’ll instead talk about my hopes and fears for the University of Mississippi. 

In a 1998 article for The Daily Mississippian, James Meredith, the university’s first Black student, mentioned that the last hurdle to overcome in regards to integration is making the Black student another regular student and committing to a one school, one student category by 2003. I would say this goal has been achieved. But one of the things I hope we can eventually acknowledge is that allowing Black students to enroll at the university doesn’t equate to accepting Black students as individuals who have earned the right to be here. 

Choosing this university is definitely one of the best decisions I ever made because as a student here, I’ve been fortunate in a lot of ways. I’ve been able to be a part of many student organizations on campus and meet some of the most wonderful people. I’ve been able to travel to many different places because of this university. But to say my experience is representative of the Black student experience is far from the truth, which calls into question whether this university is truly capable of creating spaces for minority students. 

You can walk this campus for 20 minutes and never encounter another student of color. I can physically count the amount of Black students I’ve had classes with. The same issue is present when it comes to Black faculty on campus. It’s those things that many people think are small that worry me about this campus.

Wonder what I mean by those “small things?” 

“You’re well-spoken.” Yes, I am well-spoken, thank you for the compliment? But what convinced you I wouldn’t be? 

“We’re not using (insert any racist symbol) in a racist way.” I understand, but does that erase the fact that that is, in fact, a racist symbol? 

“Can I touch your hair?” No. Would I ask to touch your hair? 

A lack of representation combined with those “small things” that happen too many times in a day deter Black students on this campus. What you consider small — the way I talk, those racist symbols (used for other purposes), my hair — is something big for me, and I hope that one day that will be acknowledged on this campus. 

In a place where you hardly ever see yourself represented, will it ever be possible to feel as if you belong? My fear is that we’ll never reach that place where Black students truly feel comfortable on this campus — a place where we don’t have to change the way we talk, the conversations we have, the foods we eat or how we wear our hair. I fear that the misunderstanding of Black life and Black culture will always be a problem. I fear that, despite our best efforts, the university’s racist history will linger in the shadows forever. 

But my hope — and I have more hope than anything — is that we will continue to recruit Black students, and in a few years when a Black student chooses this university, they won’t enter a classroom and be the only Black student. Representation is vital, and without it, convincing other Black students that this is a place where they can get a quality education and feel they are welcome will be quite difficult. My biggest hope is that more Black students will choose to call this university home, and this university will choose to make Black students feel at home.   

In his article, Meredith predicted that Ole Miss would be the Harvard of America, and Mississippi would be the picture of the “Good Life.” For Ole Miss to be the “Harvard of America,” in a state that is the picture of the “Good Life” and the “model of equality, freedom and Free Enterprise,” the university needs to ensure that this is a place where minority students feel welcomed for who they are and all the differences they possess. 

In Case You Missed It

Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ nail-biter in College Station

Player Spotlight: Quinshon Judkins promises to ramp things up

1 day ago
Newbies take over Ole Miss ​Club​ Hockey team

Newbies take over Ole Miss ​Club​ Hockey team

1 day ago
Iris Room passes the mic to local artists

Iris Room passes the mic to local artists

1 day ago
UM launches creative writing program

UM launches creative writing program

1 day ago
Strutting toward success: Career Center Fashion Show comes to campus

Strutting toward success: Career Center Fashion Show comes to campus

1 day ago
Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

1 day ago

Editor-in-Chief Farewell

Rabria MoorebyRabria Moore
April 20, 2023
Reading Time: 3 mins read

When thinking about what I would write for my farewell address, I thought about a traditional farewell telling you all how much I’ve enjoyed this experience and how much I’ll miss serving in this position. I also thought about the journalistic farewell in which I would tell you how much I love storytelling and explain to you how a newspaper works. But I think you all know all of those things, so I’ve decided to go a different route. 

My experience at this university and as editor-in-chief of The Daily Mississippian has largely been shaped by my identity as a Black woman — partly because Ole Miss is defined by its racial history and partly because the university celebrated the 60th anniversary of integration during the 2022-23 school term (October 2022). In this farewell address, I’ll instead talk about my hopes and fears for the University of Mississippi. 

In a 1998 article for The Daily Mississippian, James Meredith, the university’s first Black student, mentioned that the last hurdle to overcome in regards to integration is making the Black student another regular student and committing to a one school, one student category by 2003. I would say this goal has been achieved. But one of the things I hope we can eventually acknowledge is that allowing Black students to enroll at the university doesn’t equate to accepting Black students as individuals who have earned the right to be here. 

Choosing this university is definitely one of the best decisions I ever made because as a student here, I’ve been fortunate in a lot of ways. I’ve been able to be a part of many student organizations on campus and meet some of the most wonderful people. I’ve been able to travel to many different places because of this university. But to say my experience is representative of the Black student experience is far from the truth, which calls into question whether this university is truly capable of creating spaces for minority students. 

You can walk this campus for 20 minutes and never encounter another student of color. I can physically count the amount of Black students I’ve had classes with. The same issue is present when it comes to Black faculty on campus. It’s those things that many people think are small that worry me about this campus.

Wonder what I mean by those “small things?” 

“You’re well-spoken.” Yes, I am well-spoken, thank you for the compliment? But what convinced you I wouldn’t be? 

“We’re not using (insert any racist symbol) in a racist way.” I understand, but does that erase the fact that that is, in fact, a racist symbol? 

“Can I touch your hair?” No. Would I ask to touch your hair? 

A lack of representation combined with those “small things” that happen too many times in a day deter Black students on this campus. What you consider small — the way I talk, those racist symbols (used for other purposes), my hair — is something big for me, and I hope that one day that will be acknowledged on this campus. 

In a place where you hardly ever see yourself represented, will it ever be possible to feel as if you belong? My fear is that we’ll never reach that place where Black students truly feel comfortable on this campus — a place where we don’t have to change the way we talk, the conversations we have, the foods we eat or how we wear our hair. I fear that the misunderstanding of Black life and Black culture will always be a problem. I fear that, despite our best efforts, the university’s racist history will linger in the shadows forever. 

But my hope — and I have more hope than anything — is that we will continue to recruit Black students, and in a few years when a Black student chooses this university, they won’t enter a classroom and be the only Black student. Representation is vital, and without it, convincing other Black students that this is a place where they can get a quality education and feel they are welcome will be quite difficult. My biggest hope is that more Black students will choose to call this university home, and this university will choose to make Black students feel at home.   

In his article, Meredith predicted that Ole Miss would be the Harvard of America, and Mississippi would be the picture of the “Good Life.” For Ole Miss to be the “Harvard of America,” in a state that is the picture of the “Good Life” and the “model of equality, freedom and Free Enterprise,” the university needs to ensure that this is a place where minority students feel welcomed for who they are and all the differences they possess. 

In Case You Missed It

Three takeaways from Ole Miss’ nail-biter in College Station

Player Spotlight: Quinshon Judkins promises to ramp things up

1 day ago
Newbies take over Ole Miss ​Club​ Hockey team

Newbies take over Ole Miss ​Club​ Hockey team

1 day ago
Iris Room passes the mic to local artists

Iris Room passes the mic to local artists

1 day ago
UM launches creative writing program

UM launches creative writing program

1 day ago
Strutting toward success: Career Center Fashion Show comes to campus

Strutting toward success: Career Center Fashion Show comes to campus

1 day ago
Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

Author Roosevelt Montás champions free thinking, liberal arts

1 day ago

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
Mississippi Press Association

Sign up for The Morning Briefing, our newsletter with the top news of the day.

SUBSCRIBE

  • News
  • Sports
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact

All Rights Reserved to S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 2019

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sports
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact

All Rights Reserved to S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 2019

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
-
00:00
00:00

Queue

Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00