I am in the College of Liberal Arts, so I thought I would reach out to my senators to tell you my opinion. I did Senate my freshman year, and I know it isn’t an easy job. I appreciate what y’all do and the work you put in, so first of all, thank you so much.
I want the flag to be taken down from Ole Miss. I recognize there are two debates going on. One, whether or not the current flag is an effective symbol of our state. Secondly, whether taking down the flag is an effective method of communicating the ineffectiveness of the current flag.
The first debate, I feel is clear. I love Mississippi, and she deserves to have a symbol that is functional. A symbol should communicate the same thing to everyone. No one looks at a stop sign and slams on the gas—everyone knows it means stop. That’s not the case with our current flag. While some intelligent and reasonable people look at it and see the symbol of our state and look on it with such love, other equally reasonable people look at it and feel like while they’re allowed all the rights of a citizen, they are not truly welcomed with the hospitality we pride ourselves on. This symbol is not effective as long as it does not mean the same thing to the reasonable people.
As to the second, I understand why one may feel that it is disrespectful to the state. That it may be rocking the boat to take the flag down from our university. That it may feel extreme. I get that. I typically side with the authority figures, and err on the side of respect.
But I will not let my respect violate my convictions. I feel convicted that leaving this flag up is not only unkind, but also hurtful in a very real and tangible way for our students. You have the power to defend these students. I ache every day the flag is up, I ache for what it means for me and what I cannot even imagine it means for friends and loved ones. I have felt convicted more and more that we have neglected the Biblical call to defend the weak–those wrongly disenfranchised by power. That’s what I hope Senate does tomorrow night. Defend the weak. The weak in this case are our students, our whole student body. We are weakened, crippled as long as the flag is up. It is a spear in our side. It causes such pain for students and it fosters divides.
The thing is, if you feel that the flag is not a good sign for our state, you can see how it is hurtful it is to our students. How it is disrespectful to our black students. How it divides our student body. The second debate is contingent only upon bravery then. Do you truly feel convicted the flag is not representative? Do you feel it is hurtful to some of our state? Then be brave. Make your convictions known. Take down the flag.
I am not asking anyone to scream, cuss anyone out, or flip off the state. Taking the flag down is not screaming, cussing, or flipping off the state. I feel that taking it down will be be a very respectful message of resistance to the state that is strong and and clear. Taking it down will be a statement of silence. The silence will speak volumes.
Thank you for your time and your hard work. I appreciate what you do, and I know y’all are under a lot of pressure. Remember that your first obligation is to the students.
Sincerely and earnestly,
Eloise Tyner
