On Tuesday evening the Ole Miss theater department held a production of “The Laramie Project,” a play about Matthew Shephard, an openly gay male, who was murdered in Laramie County, Wyo. But unlike its previous performances, this one was troubling as university students heckled and disrupted the event, using hateful words like “fag” during the performance and insulting performers for their body types and their characters’ sexual orientations.
We, the editorial staff of The Daily Mississippian, condemn these actions and ask the student body to not allow this event to pass by unnoticed and use it as a means to start an open discussion. These students were hateful and disrespectful to a group of committed individuals who worked hard and were putting on a play that was meant to combat such offensive behavior. They were also disrespectful and insensitive to the larger LGBTQ community who attend our university. These are not only members of our university but also human beings, and we must accept and offer them the same type of respect we expect for ourselves. Using such language and being openly prejudiced is unacceptable.
We, as students, cannot forget that when we attend this university, we become ambassadors of Ole Miss. We are representatives and our actions depict the university’s atmosphere. Now, for the second time in one year, we are in the national spotlight for the actions of a few irresponsible students who make our university look as though it is accepting of this kind of behavior. We all know it is not. But until we come together and show our rejection of these actions, Ole Miss will continue to be depicted in a negative light.
It is discouraging to note that some members of the heckling, disrespectful audience were football players and other student athletes. Many members of the Ole Miss community, especially children who are growing up as Ole Miss fans, consider these athletes to be role models. We hope that in the future these athletes realize they represent much more than themselves. They are the face of our university and we hope they will show the university, the state and the nation their best side.
This editorial was not written because we want to increase tension, but to subvert the tension of our state and our history. We cannot forget the negative reputation our state and university have earned since their inception. Furthermore, we want to combat harassment and discrimination, so we can avoid these types of conflicts on our campus in future and focus on what is important – our community and our education. We do not believe this event is a measuring stick of our student body because students at this university value its creed. But we do hope it will create further discussion about how we might strengthen tolerance and sensitivity on this campus.
We, The Daily Mississippian, encourage students to attend Pride Week events, which will run Monday through Friday of next week, endorse the work that the William Winter Institute has done in reaction to this behavior and appreciate the letter sent by Chancellor Dan Jones and Director of Athletics Ross Bjork. Attending Pride Week events and looking into the work that the William Winter Institute does and has done will help answer questions and defuse stereotypes about LGBTQ people and strengthen our community. The letter sent by Jones and Bjork speaks to the expectations that we, as Ole Miss Rebels, should uphold. We also recommend professors take the time to discuss this in their classes, as this discussion will help bring about tolerance and understanding.
Our community is an inclusive one, and we believe students will come together to reject such intolerant actions in future. The majority of students at The University of Mississippi are accepting of all people, only a small minority is intolerant, but sadly this small minority is often loudest. We will not be represented by these prejudiced few because we are a campus of supportive and compassionate students. And we will not allow this event to change that.
Adam Ganucheau, Phil McCausland, Grant Beebe, Caty Cambron, Pete Porter, Hawley Martin, Tim Abram, Mallory Simerville, Emily Crawford, Casey Holliday, Kendyl Noon, Natalie Wood, Katie Williamson, Tisha Coleman, Natalie Moore, Sarah Parrish.
