Popular Resistance of Mississippi is a new organization on campus that has already gained considerable momentum, as several hundred students have already signed up for their mailing list.
Ole Miss’ newest club was founded by its current president, sophomore public policy major Jaz Brisack, who said she wants to unite students dedicated to fighting social injustice.
“We democratically vote for which issues to focus on, so the individual passions of the members are addressed, and we can try to make a difference in areas that intrigue us,” Brisack said. “We aim to fight for human rights wherever they are violated.”
Brisack said she wants Popular Resistance to bring awareness to under-reported issues.
“I hope to expose people to alternative voices and show people that the South is an open-minded and politically diverse place,” Brisack said.
One of the organization’s goals is to meet every other week in the Lott Leadership Institute.
“Since we’re so new and still in the planning stages, we don’t have a set meeting schedule yet, but that should be resolved very soon,” Brisack said.
Sophomore international studies major Cynthia Bauer has been an active member of the group since the Get Involved fair this past August.
“There were a couple of maps of Israel’s growing occupation of Palestine, which intrigued me as a Middle Eastern studies student, so I started going to the meetings,” Bauer said. “I’m hoping Popular Resistance will give me a look into political activism, which is something I never have really experienced or been a part of before.”
Jill Stein speaks at a town hall meeting Monday in the Lyric. (Photo by: Xinyi Song)
Popular Resistance of Mississippi also organized and hosted the Green Party’s presidential candidate, Jill Stein, where she gave a speech and conducted a question and answer session at The Lyric Oxford on Monday, Oct. 3. The event proved to be a success, with more than 200 people in attendance.
Since it’s an election year, many students are joining political organizations on campus to become more involved and educated on various topics. Popular Resistance of Mississippi is now another option for Ole Miss students to get connected with politics and controversial subjects.
“Having Jill Stein up here for a visit and speech was only the starting point. Who knows what’s coming next?” Journalism Professor Joe Atkins said.
Atkins presides as the faculty advisor for the organization.
“This group brings a different voice to this campus, one that brings attention to social justice issues such as worker rights, the environment, race and more,” Atkins said. “It reflects the growing diversity of the University of Mississippi, not only in race and ethnic background, but of viewpoints and ways of looking at the world.”
