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  • News

    Fall 2021 semester to ‘return to normal,’ chancellor announces

    Grove Grocery opens a second location

    ‘Change is in the air’: SMBHC dean to resign after 19 years

    University asks students, faculty how willing they are to receive the vaccine

    Oxford Police Department arrests alleged soccer field vandals

    Campus Walk suffers property damage from winter storms

  • Sports

    Baseball is back at Swayze: Ole Miss sits 5-2 after first home games

    Ole Miss track and field finished strong at 2021 SEC Indoor Championships

    Ole Miss soccer wins spring season debut over Samford

    Ole Miss soccer wins spring season debut over Samford

    Men’s basketball sweeps over No. 24 Missouri

    Track and field teams to compete in SEC Championships

    Ole Miss soccer hosts Samford for spring season debut

  • Arts & Culture
    Arts council unveils statue of Ron ‘Ronzo’ Shapiro

    Arts council unveils statue of Ron ‘Ronzo’ Shapiro

    Despite strict food business restrictions, Blenz Bowls comes to UM

    Despite strict food business restrictions, Blenz Bowls comes to UM

    Album review: Taylor Swift reminds the world of her unbridled imagination with “Evermore”

    The secret to The Luv Shak’s success

  • Opinion

    Guest column: We need new student housing codes for cold weather

    Opinion: The university needs to find its sense of shame

    Opinion: Students, vote in the municipal elections

    Letter to the editor: Understanding the truth of lynching

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Thousands of scholars rally behind fired UM professor

Eliza NoebyEliza Noe
December 17, 2020
3 min read

After the surprising announcement of the dismissal of Garrett Felber, an assistant professor in the history department, thousands of academics from around the world have signed a joint letter addressed to Chancellor Glenn Boyce and Noell Wilson, chair of the history department, demanding his reinstatement. 

In the letter, the undersigned ask for a “full and transparent” account of the events that led to Felber’s firing and vow to not speak at, attend events for or associate with the University of Mississippi until Felber is reinstated. The latter promise exempts those who are full-time employees at the university. The letter also states that Felber’s dismissal “has every appearance of being both politically motivated and retaliatory.”

“In the absence of a fuller account of the actual circumstances of Professor Felber’s firing, we understand the firing as an attack on Professor Felber’s commitment to anti-racist political organizing as well as his well-documented history of demanding accountability from the university administration and wealthy donors,” the letter reads. 

Felber, who is known in the community for speaking out against racism at the university and mass incarceration across the country, received a letter from Wilson that said his last day as a professor is Dec. 31, 2021. 

According to a statement from the university, Felber “did not follow the appropriate process for seeking external funding” when applying for a $42,000 grant in October, which he received but was then rejected by the history department. The grant, according to Felber, would have gone toward various resources for incarcerated people, including books, American Sign Language teams, Spanish translations and closed captioning. 

According to a letter from Wilson, Felber refused to communicate with her, but Felber said that he preferred to communicate in writing, rather than in-person meetings. 

“Respectfully, your effort to dictate or restrict the means by which I communicate with you is untenable,” Wilson said in the letter. “Your repeated refusal to talk with me makes it impossible for me to maintain a productive working relationship with you or supervise your faculty responsibilities.”

Felber’s termination comes just three months after State Auditor Shad White began investigating professor James Thomas, another outspoken faculty member who participated in a nationwide scholar strike in September. Since then, White has demanded $2,000 from Thomas in exchange for what White claims was an illegal strike. Thomas’s own tenure was debated by the Institutions of Higher Learning Board for two hours after he tweeted a joke about eating a conservative colleague.

Members of the university community have rallied behind Felber. Associated Student Body President Joshua Mannery said he was disheartened to see the decision, calling it an example of “UM’s struggle to balance community and unnecessary, back-room politics.” 

“This community lacks the basic bonds needed to sustain a culture of trust, and if administration doesn’t begin to fix that, we will continue to lose out,” Mannery said. 

Jesse Cromwell, an associate professor in the history department, said that the decision does not represent the feelings or wants of many members of the department. He also said he has heard nothing from official channels about Felber’s firing.

“We have been rebuffed in attempts to get a meeting (or) answers. We are in the dark. We are devastated,” Cromwell said. 

At the time of publication, almost 4,000 people have signed the letter demanding for Felber’s reinstatement.

In Case You Missed It

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Ole Miss track and field finished strong at 2021 SEC Indoor Championships

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Fall 2021 semester to ‘return to normal,’ chancellor announces

16 hours ago

Grove Grocery opens a second location

16 hours ago

‘Change is in the air’: SMBHC dean to resign after 19 years

17 hours ago
Ole Miss soccer wins spring season debut over Samford

Ole Miss soccer wins spring season debut over Samford

23 hours ago

Thousands of scholars rally behind fired UM professor

Eliza NoebyEliza Noe
December 17, 2020
3 min read

After the surprising announcement of the dismissal of Garrett Felber, an assistant professor in the history department, thousands of academics from around the world have signed a joint letter addressed to Chancellor Glenn Boyce and Noell Wilson, chair of the history department, demanding his reinstatement. 

In the letter, the undersigned ask for a “full and transparent” account of the events that led to Felber’s firing and vow to not speak at, attend events for or associate with the University of Mississippi until Felber is reinstated. The latter promise exempts those who are full-time employees at the university. The letter also states that Felber’s dismissal “has every appearance of being both politically motivated and retaliatory.”

“In the absence of a fuller account of the actual circumstances of Professor Felber’s firing, we understand the firing as an attack on Professor Felber’s commitment to anti-racist political organizing as well as his well-documented history of demanding accountability from the university administration and wealthy donors,” the letter reads. 

Felber, who is known in the community for speaking out against racism at the university and mass incarceration across the country, received a letter from Wilson that said his last day as a professor is Dec. 31, 2021. 

According to a statement from the university, Felber “did not follow the appropriate process for seeking external funding” when applying for a $42,000 grant in October, which he received but was then rejected by the history department. The grant, according to Felber, would have gone toward various resources for incarcerated people, including books, American Sign Language teams, Spanish translations and closed captioning. 

According to a letter from Wilson, Felber refused to communicate with her, but Felber said that he preferred to communicate in writing, rather than in-person meetings. 

“Respectfully, your effort to dictate or restrict the means by which I communicate with you is untenable,” Wilson said in the letter. “Your repeated refusal to talk with me makes it impossible for me to maintain a productive working relationship with you or supervise your faculty responsibilities.”

Felber’s termination comes just three months after State Auditor Shad White began investigating professor James Thomas, another outspoken faculty member who participated in a nationwide scholar strike in September. Since then, White has demanded $2,000 from Thomas in exchange for what White claims was an illegal strike. Thomas’s own tenure was debated by the Institutions of Higher Learning Board for two hours after he tweeted a joke about eating a conservative colleague.

Members of the university community have rallied behind Felber. Associated Student Body President Joshua Mannery said he was disheartened to see the decision, calling it an example of “UM’s struggle to balance community and unnecessary, back-room politics.” 

“This community lacks the basic bonds needed to sustain a culture of trust, and if administration doesn’t begin to fix that, we will continue to lose out,” Mannery said. 

Jesse Cromwell, an associate professor in the history department, said that the decision does not represent the feelings or wants of many members of the department. He also said he has heard nothing from official channels about Felber’s firing.

“We have been rebuffed in attempts to get a meeting (or) answers. We are in the dark. We are devastated,” Cromwell said. 

At the time of publication, almost 4,000 people have signed the letter demanding for Felber’s reinstatement.

In Case You Missed It

Baseball is back at Swayze: Ole Miss sits 5-2 after first home games

16 hours ago

Ole Miss track and field finished strong at 2021 SEC Indoor Championships

16 hours ago

Fall 2021 semester to ‘return to normal,’ chancellor announces

16 hours ago

Grove Grocery opens a second location

16 hours ago

‘Change is in the air’: SMBHC dean to resign after 19 years

17 hours ago
Ole Miss soccer wins spring season debut over Samford

Ole Miss soccer wins spring season debut over Samford

23 hours ago

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