The University of Mississippi, historically considered a bastion of Southern values and thought, on Monday lowered and furled the Mississippi state flag following student outcry over the prominence of the Confederate symbol.
The student senate voted 33-15 last week in favor of removing the flag, which features the Confederate battle emblem in one corner, and following a wave of similar actions throughout the South following the June 18 shooting in Charleston, South Carolina—including the high-profile removal by activist Bree Newsome of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state house grounds.
Following the student vote, the university's Staff Council issued a resolution calling for the flag's removal. "As the state's flagship university, we must lead and stand as an example of what an inclusive institution of higher education should be in a our great state," the group writes, calling for the flag's lowering "until there is a state flag representative of all Mississippians."
For many, the school, known widely as "Ole Miss," is a stalwart of Southern heritage—a tradition that includes controversial touchstones, such as its traditional mascot, Colonel Reb, to the infamous riot in 1962 over the integration of black student James Meredith.
The flag will reportedly be preserved in the University Archives along with resolutions from students, faculty, and staff calling for its removal.
