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

Page 19 text:

TT REBEL ONS, LANDSHARKS AND BEARS? (OH MY!) The controversial mascot development process polarizes the community K Uncomfortable tension silenced the crowd of students, alumni and fans that had formed outside the student union the afternoon of Feb. 23, 2010. On one side stood those seeking change seven years after former university ' mascot Colonel Reb was removed from the sidelines of aught-Hemingway stadium. In fierce opposition stood those who either sought the colonel ' s return, or simply wanted the school to remain without a mascot as it had since 2003. Nearly 3,000 students voted in that day ' s referendum, spearheaded by the Associated Student Body, wWch asked whether or not the student body wanted to develop a new mascot. Many were con inced smdents were either too apathetic or too nostalgic for the ghosts of traditions past to vote for a new sideline symbol, particularly in the land where old times are not easily forgotten. However, 74 percent of students who voted were more than ready to move on, resulting in a controversial student-led development process prompting eight months of discussion over Uons, landsharks and racially ambiguous athletes. Weeks of preliminary voting eliminated many initial concepts, including a riverboat - 5-