Campus police officers at the University of Mississippi removed the state flag from its campus this morning, days after resolutions from the student body, staff, and faculty urged such action, according to a press release from the University of Mississippi.
Ole Miss is the first predominantly white institution of higher education in the state of Mississippi to ban the flag.
The student senate was the first to pass the resolution, after 3 hours of "respectful and impassioned debate" culminating in a 33-15-1 vote in support of removal.
On Oct. 25, a senior at Ole Miss, Ann-Marie Herod, published an op-ed for NBC explaining the pain the flag causes students of color on campus.
"It makes my job ten times harder when I have to convince minority students to see beyond the confederate flags that are literally in every tent during home games," she wrote.
"There was a time where we were not wanted at this University. To some that may have been fifty years ago, to others that may have been just a few years ago, and for me it was just last week."
Interim chancellor of the university Morris Stocks explained the formal reason for the removal of the flag.
"I understand the flag represents tradition and honor to some. But to others, the flag means that some members of the Ole Miss family are not welcomed or valued. That is why the university faculty, staff, and leadership have united behind this student-led initiative,” said Stocks.
“Mississippi and its people are known far and wide for hospitality and a warm and welcoming culture. But our state flag does not communicate those values."
It remains to be seen how Ole Miss' removal of the flag will affect ongoing efforts in the state to ban the flag altogether.
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