When was ole miss established

When it chartered the University of Mississippi on February 24, , the Mississippi Legislature laid the foundation for public higher education in the state. The university opened its doors to 80 students four years later, and for 23 years was Mississippi's only public institution of higher learning. For years, it was the state's only comprehensive university.

The University of Mississippi embraces its public flagship mission of inspiring and educating our diverse and vibrant community where all individuals are able to intellectually, socially, and culturally thrive through transformative experiences on our campus and beyond. In fulfillment of this mission, we demonstrate the following commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion:. Not every first-year experience works out the way you planned. Visit transfer.

For important dates and deadlines, visit finaid. Discover why so many students are choosing to build their legacy at Ole Miss and see first-hand why our campus continues to rank among the most beautiful in the country.

Our in-person campus visits consist of an information session with an Admissions staff member, followed by a campus walking tour with an Ole Miss Ambassador, as well as a tour of our residence halls. We also offer virtual visit options each week, where we discuss topics such as campus life, scholarships and financial aid, and academic programs.

Schedule your tour at olemiss. Build Your Legacy. Also last month, the university esports team dropped all references to "Rebels. The dangerous messaging at play. Jack Carey received his master's and doctorate at the university. He devoted a section of his dissertation to "the invention of Ole Miss" and is writing a book, "Jim Crow U. The story of Ole Miss' origin, he said, is but one example of the school's deliberate efforts to hitch its image to the Old South and Confederacy.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries -- as old Confederates convulsed at the notion of civil rights and crafted Jim Crow laws to strip Black people of rights -- the university covered the campus with Old South iconography , Carey and others say. It's quite a bit to try to explain away or rationalize. Aside from sending an unwelcoming message to more than a third of the state's residents, who are Black -- along with those who feel those residents' lives and feelings matter -- retaining the nickname poses deeper dangers in its messaging, he said:.

And it ignores the brutality, violence and force necessary to maintain slavery. By romanticizing slavery, Carey said, an institution doesn't have to confront it. By fighting to keep its name and other holdovers of the Confederacy, he said, the university sends a strong message to prospective Black students: "Go somewhere else.

Not everyone concurs with Carey. On Facebook and in interviews, many students and alumni -- and some would argue most -- feel the same way the university does about keeping Ole Miss. Despite their alignment with university leaders, they worry because the school has defended traditions like Colonel Reb and "Dixie" in the past, only to relent under pressure, said Howie Morgan, a graduate and political consultant. Growing up with Southern parents in Vicksburg, "I didn't know what racism was," he said.

A Mississippi fan takes a picture with some dressed up a former mascot, Colonel Reb, in That the Ku Klux Klan and other hatemongers co-opted the flag after the Civil War is just an example of groups stealing symbols, he said: "The Klan also used an American flag.

The Nazis also stole a Christian symbol. He frowns on efforts to change Ole Miss or Rebels, echoing his alma mater's assertion that they've taken on new meanings. Those who fought for suffrage and to end child labor were rebels, he said.

He worries outside pressure is pushing administrators to "change from a niche market into a more bland university so we would blend in with all the other universities across the United States. For senior Lauren Moses, a columnist for the school paper, the controversial symbols, along with Ole Miss and Rebels, are not honors. They're reminders, she said. We don't celebrate them, but we remember.

I don't think the majority of students who utter the words support neo-Nazis or racism," she said. When graduate student Zach Borenstein wrote a February column urging students to stop saying Ole Miss he'd be charged months later with vandalizing the Confederate statue , Moses fired back with a litany of traditions, including James Meredith integrating the school in , that she associated with Ole Miss.

She sees it as a microcosm of what's happening across the nation, where historic figures such as Christopher Columbus and Thomas Jefferson are removed from the context of their history and unfairly measured by today's norms and moral codes, she said.

We're trying to whitewash our history and get rid of everything that's bad," she told CNN. We're destined to repeat the bad. Carl Tart, 22, the university's first homecoming king, faced backlash when he told his family he was attending UM.

Relatives disapproved of its racist and Confederate history, he said, but he had attended an all-Black high school in Yazoo City. Once on campus, he'd experience a range of racism. He shared anecdotes about hateful messages Facebook and screen grabs of death threats on Snapchat targeting Black students. Other bigotry he experienced was more Archie Bunker than Bull Connor, he said. White students at pep rallies couldn't tell star wide receiver D.

Metcalf from other Black players, he said. They'd blurt out the n-word while singing along with rap music in local bars. At tailgates in The Grove, Tart and other Black students had to check each other's backs to make sure no one put "Our State Flag" stickers on them. Unwilling to study in halls named for racists the contextualization plaques "didn't go far enough" , Tart did most of his schoolwork at home, he said.

Despite his stature, 6-foot-5 and almost pounds, he found himself anxious when a vehicle pulled alongside him bearing the Confederate flag. I have no clue what's going to happen from this point forward," he said. On June 19, he issued an ultimatum: If his alma mater breaks ground on a shrine glorifying the relocated Confederate statue, count him out of any marketing initiatives expected of him as homecoming king. We have to start leaving behind these old traditions and these old prejudiced ways and bring positivity to the change," he said.