Candace Chambers
Blue & White Flash / News Editor
After the Nov. 6 election between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney, many cheered for the victory of President Obama’s win, while others were disappointed at the results.
Supporters of President Obama praised his efforts to move the economy forward with tax cuts for the rich, more affordable health care, and improvement in the nation’s education systems. Critics of Obama’s leadership claim that he is increasing the nation’s deficit with excessive spending, which will cause the country to fall into a deeper economic recession.
The night of the election, JSU students gathered in the student center to watch as the results of the election came in. They cheered as Obama gained electoral and popular votes.
But not all college campuses in Mississippi had such peaceful, celebratory demonstrations. On the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. just before midnight, a group of about 400 college students gathered to show their disapproval of the elected President of the United States.
Police received information that the incident was occurring through the social media network, twitter.com and ordered students to disperse the scene, according to Ole Miss News.
Reports of racial slurs, burning of Obama campaign signs, and unruly behavior have surfaced from the night of Nov. 6 and the incident has been discussed on BET.com, CBS television website, and time.com of Time magazine.
A video has been released from the night and viewers can see police officers and students curious about what was going on. A picture on twitter.com shows students burning an “Obama Biden 2012” sign, while smiling.
The following Wednesday night, the university held a “We are One Mississippi University Candlelight Walk” to show how they are moving forward towards unity. According to Ole Miss’s website, over 670 students read the University’s creed.
From the Office of University Communications, Chancellor Dan Jones stated, “While we are grateful that there were no injuries and there was no property damage, we are very disappointed in those students who took a very immature and uncivil approach to expressing their views about the election.” Jones added, “We are reminding our students of relevant statements within the university creed.”
This incident comes a week after the university celebrated its 50th year of integration. On Sept. 30, 1962, James Meredith, an African-American, attempted to enroll on the campus amid protests. He was escorted by Federal Marshalls and admitted the next morning. On Oct. 13, Courtney Pearson was crowned the first Black homecoming queen.
A student at Ole Miss, who wishes to remain anonymous, describes the scene and how it is a disappointment that the occurrence happened after celebrations of integration at the school.
She stated, “A bunch of kids who wanted Romney to win got really upset and protested on the Grove. They were probably drunk and some were burning off steam. I wasn’t scared. We had a candlelight vigil to show that the incident would not ruin the school’s reputation and it was only a few people who decided to be ignorant, not the whole campus.”
JSU students also had opinions about the Ole Miss disturbance.
Carnelius Hudson, a junior biology major from Rueville, Miss. said, “They were acting unruly and they should be disciplined.”
Greg Luckett, a sophomore computer science major from Jackson, Miss. said, “If we did that because President Obama lost, we would all be in jail. They were expressing their freedom of speech, but you can do better, especially how they were burning signs.”
Airlia Dansberry, a freshman special education major from East St. Louis, Ill., said: “It was unnecessary. It’s nothing they can do about the election and they should get over it.”
Ole Miss student, Britany Cavett, a sophomore pharmacy major from Hampton, Va., urges people to move forward after this situation.
She stated, “To clear rumors, the people on Tuesday night do not represent the whole student body of our campus. Caucasians, African-Americans, Latinos, Orientals, and other ethnic groups can and do get along together on this campus.”
Cavett added, “The Candle Light Walk that was held on Wednesday is proof that all races do care about what this university upholds and means to each and every one of us. We may still have a ways to go, but we are not as bad as people think.”
