University of Mississippi - Ole Miss Yearbook (Oxford, MS)

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we ' ve gat BY RACHAEL SHOOK PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT KING SP THE CARDINAL CLUB OF OLDEN DAYS MAKES A REVIVAL IN THE FORM OF THE STUDENT SPIRIT COMMITTEE Hotty Toddy : what a wonderful phrase. It is the one cheer that Ole Miss knows by heart. Fans chant it over and over as they tailgate in the Grove while supporting the team in the stadium. It is one of the many traditions held dear by the University of Mississippi. However, some students felt the university needed more. A group of this kind has never been seen at Ole Miss with one exception; in the 1940s, an organization called the Cardinal Club helped raise the university ' s spirit and even do- nated a sign that is now at the entrance on University Avenue. Ole Miss gained a new campus organization to add that something more: the Student Spirit Committee. A group of students decided it was time for Ole Miss to spread more spirit. After, gathering letters of support from the Ole Miss Alumni Association and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics the Student Spirit committee presented their ideas to the Associated Student Body. On February 27, 2006, the ASB officially recognized the SSC as a campus organization. The group and committee are made up of very di- verse and enthusiastic students, said Richard Wood, Student Spirit Committee initiator and director. We really feel that we will make a positive difference on game days. The committee, advised by Ole Miss alumna, Assis- tant Director of Marketing, and employee of Alumni Affairs, Molly Meisenheimer, said It is a diverse group of students who supply ideas and opinions in order to help promote Ole Miss and the game day they experience. The goals of the SSC are to promote spirit by sup- plying ideas and opinions from the student-led committee to build up student attendance at home football games. Their intentions are to build on the already exisitng traditions at Ole Miss. Wood said, The committee pledges to uphold every value of what is best for the University of Mississipp i Student Body. In March, the committee held a pep rally before the Memphis home game. Sponsored by Stanford Financial of Memphis fans gathered in the Grove on Saturday, September 2. The pep rally began with the Pride of the South pep band pumping up the crowd. The spirit committee chose Senior Memphis Marcus Guinn as the new mie-man for the pep rally and each home game. The Ole Miss Cheerleaders and Rebelettes both performed and led the crowd in cheers and chants. Roun McNeal, ASB president, spoke, as did Chancel- lor Khayat. Coach Orgeron and members of the football team gave inspirational speeches, adding to the energy of the crowd. An autographed football was thrown into the immense crowd. After the speakers were finished, the Krakerjacks performed on the Grove stage. Many stayed out until late in the evening, relaxing and having fun in the Grove as the band played classic rock music. During the Memphis game, the student spirit com- mittee also helped set up the Rebel Power Hour. The first 500 students to the game received free commemorative cups from Coca-Cola and were able to present them to the conces- sion stand to obtain a free Coke product. The idea of the Rebel Power Hour was to get students to the game earlier. The Student Spirit Committee ' s goal for the future is to strive to establish more traditions and boost the school spirit at Ole Miss. When asked about this dedicated group of students, advisor Molly Meisenheimer said, The enthusiasm and school spirit generated by this group of students and their desire for Ole Miss fans to become more involved is the reason I agreed to be the advisor. I believe they are learning how to organize events, obtain sponsorships and do the behind-the-scenes work that it takes to make events successful. Most of the members of the Student Spirit committee are already campus leaders, very active in various organizations, and it has been amazing to see them ' step up to the plate ' with yet another commitment. What we all have in common is our love for this University and our desire to help enhance spirit on this campus. How fun is that? I am proud to be associated with these students. lEFT SHAW MOORE .nior majoring in Southern studies, celebrated with n the Grove before the game against Memphis. THE OLE MISS 2 9

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Picture Jesse Coppenbarger wearing a stereotypical gas station Mississippi t-shirt with short brown hair and pale skin. He is sitting at a table in the Grove, and he does not allow the conversation to lull for a moment. You want to know what my biology teacher said to- day? he asks, pulling out his cell phone, where he apparently stored the quote for safekeeping. He said, ' A shivering heap of sweaty flesh ' , he reads admirably. He ' s a poet. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the front man of local band Colour Revolt, the currently Oxford-based band that has managed to garner a strong following of fans around town, as well as across the country. Chances are you have seen the five members of the band— Len Clark, Jesse Coppenbarger, Jimmy Cajoleas, Sean Kirkpatrick, and Drew Mellon— around town or playing live on a stage. At the very least, there is a good chance you have read about them in The Daily Mississippian, heard them on Rebel Radio, or seen their name on the t-shirt of a fan. They have played on the grimy stage of the Library, in the smoky air of Two Stick, over the noise at Proud Larry ' s, and into the shiny round microphones of Thacker Mountain Radio, not to mention all over the continental United States with popular bands such as Anathallo and Brand New. Oxford ' s just a wonderful place to be, Cajoleas said. Playing shows here is amazing. It ' s just crazy. Wild. First off, some history: Colour Revolt has not always been Colour Revolt. They originated in the late nineties in Jack- son, the city from which all members but Drew, a Clinton na- tive, proudly hail, as a high school project named Foxxe. Even- tually they morphed into Fletcher before stabilizing as Colour Revolt— a name which, according to the band ' s myspace page (www.myspace.com colourrevolt), is derived from Edwin Ab- botts ' 19th century social commentary Flatland, an exploration of life in two dimensions. They have produced albums under each band name, and their most recent one— titled Colour Revolt — was released by Tiny Evil this October, according to t heir myspace page. The product of the five musicians and a semi-hectic recording stunt in the living room of a friend the weekend of Hurricane Ka- trina, the five-track EP has so far proved to be exploding with enough sound, energy, and talent to win the band over eleven thousand friends on myspace, as well as lure one Clay Jones of Sweet Tea Studios into the deal. Jones lent post-production help and mixed the whole EP, the Web site said. Described as a group of hungry, young southerners by the music blog stereogum.com, four of the five members go to Ole Miss and look to graduate within the next two years or so. Jimmy is an English major; Len, art; Sean, psychology and Jesse, social work. The remaining member, Drew Mellon, graduated from Mississippi College in 2006 with a degree in Christian Studies. If it does not sound easy being a full time college ident as well as a member of an increasingly popular band, well, it is not. They are gone most weekends, taking their trusty van, named Magnus Van Morrisson, to destinations all across the country and cramming in gigs wherever and whenever it is possible. In 2005 alone they played almost 80 shows in 18 different states, according to an article in Paste magazine. I never sleep, Cajoleas said. That helps. I just do As far as living in Oxford goes, Kirkpatrick said the town probably had a fair amount to do with where the band ' s music is headed. Being in Oxford makes you feel more important, be- cause there are more locals involved in things and will come to your show just because it ' s closer and want to be a part of whatever is going on at the time, Kirkpatrick said. For us it ' s given us a lot of motivation to wr ite and play more just because we ' ve gotten a lot of support from this town, and it helps us as a band to get more support. Coppenbarger said he liked getting into Oxford life. I live with Oxfordians, people who know the area, he said. I guess the most obvious way that being here has affected us is we ' re in a town full of geniuses, Cajoleas said. Some of the most brilliant people, people like Barry Hannah and Tom Franklin and Beth Ann, all of these absolutely bril- liant people, and that ' s just literary. Musically, [with] all the Fat Possum stuff going on. Clay Jones and Dennis Herring and Sweet Tea and T-Model Ford plays here. It ' s just amaz- ing. Both Kirkpatrick and Cajoleas also credited some of the area ' s local and regional music, as well as the some of the South ' s more gothic qualities, with having influence on their music. Things like Thacker [Thacker Mountain Radio Show] inspire you because you have music from all walks of life, Kirkpatrick said, and they ' re just thinking about life, getting their inspiration from whatever they ' re doing. They ' re playing music that ' s honest and that ' s why people enjoy it. It ' s really creative, and I love that. There are all those people who are so excellent at what they do, it ' s inspiring to be anywhere near them, Ca- joleas said. It ' s just this desire to learn how to really play. And Blues, music like that will always seep into your music A favorite local band gains notoriety and national attention but never forgets their roots REVOLT because that ' s what ' s here and that ' s what ' s powerful from here. As for the future, the members of the band just want to be able to do what they love. They have tentative plans to record a full-length album sometime in early 2007 and expect to do another tour in the summer before returning to Oxford in order to finish up school. I guess I need to get a degree and then try and make music work as a living, said Coppenbarger, who will graduate in 2007. We would love to be able to pay rent and do this, Kirkpatrick said. Be able to have a house and furniture and food. If we can do that with music, because we love it that much, we ' re satisfied with that. Anything else is just a bonus. Cajoleas agreed. I want to be able to do this for a living, he said. I want to make a record that will last, that ' s really good. If we do that, if we can do that, then the other doors will open. That ' s the number one priority, just want to make something really, really good. Great, even. I don ' t want to push my luck, but great would be fantastic. IGHT COLOUR REVOLT perforrr quare Books in the fall of 2006. ned at Oxford ' s hacker Mountain Radio at Off- 30 THE OLE MISS