Scully 1

Maddie Scully
ENGL 1302
Professor Collins
28 April 2016
Hotty Toddy
A rising issue in todays culture is that current mascot are found offensive by many. A hot
topic in the south is the University of Mississippi Rebels. It is an issue that many outside of the
university and the southern area are aware about and quite familiar with (Gordon). The
University of Mississippi named their mascot Colonel Reb after the Rebel leader in the civil
war. He is said to represent an old, white plantation owner back in the American Civil War times,
before the Civil Rights Movement and the integration of African Americans into the school.
Many feel that he and the confederate flag come hand in hand when it comes to meaning and the
history of the school, which is found offensive by many (Herndon). Now that the school is
completely integrated, the Rebel mascot is found as racist and offensive because he was the
leader of the Confederate army. Many do not find the mascot offensive because he represents the
schools southern heritage and pride. In 2003, Colonel Reb was banned from physically being
present at sporting events. He was not allowed on the sidelines at any football games, basketball
games, or any other events. Though he could not be at events, he was still the schools official
mascot. In 2010, the schools mascot was officially changed to the Rebel Black Bear. They
kept the name rebel in his title to avoid even more conflict, but changed the character from the
colonel to a black bear. This caused an uproar with many of the students, alumni, and many
throughout the state of Mississippi. Rebel Black Bear is still the schools mascot today, but the
issue has not left. Many people now are petitioning to change the mascot to the Land Shark

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because the symbol has always been something present and important in the athletic program at
the University and would not be offensive to many, if any students. The University of Mississippi
should change their mascot from the Rebel Black Bear to the Land Shark because this
mascot would have a stronger connection to the school and its pride compared to the Black Bear
and would not cause conflict or be found offensive.
Besides changing the mascot from something historical and a southern icon, the Black
Bear has still been found flawed and not right for the University. The Black Bear was chosen
because a black bear is killed in a book written by former Ole Miss Student, William Faulkner
(Brown). The brown bear was automatically said to be not inspirational to athletes on field and
not original (Brown). When the new mascot was released, there was a picture sent out of a
cartoon bear dressed head to toe in University of Mississippi gear waving an Ole Miss flag. One
of the first issues brought up about the cartoon was that the Black Bear was not even black, it
was brown (Brown). Leaders of The Colonel Reb Foundation dressed as Colonel Reb and
walked around the campus and went on school tours (Brown). They refuse to let the spirit and
pride of Colonel Reb die or not be found on the campus. Ole Miss is a school of tradition and
many of them, and many feel that the Black Bear holds no tradition, especially compared to
Colonel Reb.
Many are resisting this change because the tradition that is being broken. They want to
keep Colonel Reb simply because you associate him with tailgate parties in the Grove, fall
afternoons at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and everything that makes you feel good about the
University of Mississippi (Caple). He has been an icon for decades and most are not ready to let
him go. Caple also says in his article that Obviously, there are a lot of people who feel
passionately about the school and the athletic department, said Jeff Alford, Mississippi's vice-

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chancellor for university relations. There is a lot of history here. The Lyceum served as a
hospital during the Civil War. It's not surprising that a lot of people are upset about this. No one
likes their history and tradition, especially if those people reside in the South.
One student at the University of Mississippi proposed to change the Universitys mascot
to the Land Shark, but it was not accepted (Kalland). The history of the Land Shark is not as
old and complex as the Rebel, but it definitely holds a lot of weight on the Universitys campus.
The Land Shark tradition came from the Rebel football team's defensive unit. As part of that
identity, defensive players will celebrate big plays by putting a hand to their forehead in the
shape of a shark fin. A battle cry of "fins up" also contributes to the players' persona (Wray). It
started with an Iraq War Veteran, Tony Fein (Wray). After starting this tradition with in the
defensive line, he went on to receive the Pat Tillman award. When Fein passed away from a drug
overdose, the tradition was stuck forever (Wray). The loss of the founder pushed the importance
of the hand signal and the battle cry. Even though the Land Shark is not the official mascot and
doesnt connect to the history of the University, it was still quickly adopted and still sticks today.
This problem has many different potential solutions. The University could go back to
Colonel Reb as their mascot, keep the black bear, or change it to the Land Shark. Going back
to Colonel Reb would make a lot of people happy, but it would also cause a major uproar with
those who feel he is outdated and racist. Keeping Rebel Black Bear would please those who
felt Colonel Reb was racist, but overall does not please the people due to his lack of
connection to the school and history, and even his uninspiring message. Changing the mascot to
the Land Shark would calm the racism storm and still keep a connection between the school
and its tradition. The best solution would be to change the mascot to the Land Shark because it
already holds a place in the University with the students and athletic department and holds zero

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chances of offending anyone. There are many different steps that will have to be done to
officially change the mascot of the school and have it integrated with in the school and the Ole
Miss Community everywhere.
After weighing all the different options, it is clear that the best one is to change the
mascot from Rebel Black Bear to the Land Shark. This would be the best option because the
Land Shark has already been adapted into the schools culture and atmosphere. It is a term and
battle cry that is already used at every sporting event and is known by all University fans and
alumni.
There are a few different steps that would need to be taken to change this mascot
officially. First, this idea would need to be presented to the students and faculty of the University.
The school or whichever foundation that chooses to take action could call an assembly to bring
this new idea to the student body. If the student body is too many people to call to gather at once,
a video could be made and sent out to all students on their school emails. After this idea is shown
to the current student body, alumni would need to be notified and sent a survey or questionnaire
to get input. During the hustle and bustle of alerting the students and alumni of Ole Miss, it is
certain that word will spread to the community of Oxford, Mississippi by word of mouth. Once
all of the different areas have been presented with the new idea of changing the mascot to the
Land Shark, it will need to be taken to the President of the University and the board of regents.
They will put their students and people first, and if they feel that it is something that will benefit
the majority and not cause harm or offense, then they will be able to have it voted on. From
there, there will need to be an online voting poll for people to vote in favor of changing the
mascot from Rebel Black Bear to a Land Shark, or against the idea by keeping Rebel Black
Bear. One will have to fill out a short form to be able to vote that will include them entering

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their name, email, and phone number so that each person will only be able to vote once. With
this one vote per person, the poll will be made sure to be fair and not skewed in any way. From
there, the next step to officially change the licensing will be to have the majority vote be
approving of the change to Land Shark. The main concern and pressing factor with having the
mascot changed will be the majority or minority vote of the people.
Attempting to change the mascot from the Rebel Black Bear to the Land Shark with
an online poll will allow the school to have a mascot that is loved by the people and approved of
by the majority of the people. The Land Shark has been a part of Rebel tradition since 2008,
compared to Rebel Black Bear who has been tied to the Universitys pride since never. Having
a mascot that does not bring offense to anyone is the most important thing to consider. The
University of Mississippi should change their mascot to the Land Shark because it does not
offend anyone and is already a huge part of the culture on campus.

Works Cited

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Brown, Robbie. "Controversy Over Mascots at Ole Miss." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Caple, Jim. "Mississippi Mascot Mess." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Cwray@al.com, Cheryl Wray |. "Where Did the Ole Miss Defense's Landshark Nickname Come
From?" AL.com. N.p., 19 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Gordon, Claire. "5 Most Controversial Mascots Of All Time." AOL.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2011.
Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Kalland, Robbie. "Ole Miss Student Starts Petition to Make 'Landsharks' the Official Mascot."
CBSSports.com. N.p., 1 Oct. 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Mherndon@al.com, Mike Herndon |. "Ole Miss, like South Carolina, Struggled to Shed
Symbolism of Confederate Flag." AL. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.