Joseph urges action at town-hall meeting

Students discuss how Ole Miss can be a 'great public university'

Jessica Russell
dm senior Staff writer

A group of concerned students, faculty and staff members joined together in the Turner Center Auditorium in a town hall meeting to see how they can join together to make Ole Miss one of America's great public universities.

The meeting began with a few remarks from Associated Student Body President John Joseph, who said the audience needed to listen to the remarks and then decide the place, "for you as an individual to make the campus and university as good as they can be.

"You should leave today with a clear picture of what you want to do," Joseph said.

Chancellor Robert Khayat said meetings like this should happen more often.

"It's important that we come together as a community to talk like this on a fairly regular basis," Khayat said.

Khayat said one of his main goals for the university since he became chancellor is for Ole Miss to become one of America's great public universities. Khayat said he hopes the university will be seen by the students, alumni, friends and general public as a great public university, like the universities of Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia and Texas. However, Khayat said changing people's perceptions of Ole Miss starts here in Oxford.

"If we want to be perceived as a great public university, it must start with us," Khayat said. "We've got to believe we're excellent and believe we're good when we are."

After Joseph and Khayat spoke, the floor was turned over to the panelists and moderator Sparky Reardon, Ole Miss' associate dean of students.

The eight panelists were Dr. Alice Clark, professor of pharmacy and director of the Natural Products Center, Dr. Mary Ann Connell, university attorney, Rev. Duncan Gray, rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Dr. Elizabeth Payne, director of the McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College, Dr. James Payne, director of the Afro-American Studies program on campus, Dr. David Sansing, professor emeritus of history, Rev. Leroy Wadlington, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Oxford and Dr. Ethel Young-Minor, associate professor of English and Afro-American studies.

The panel discussed the ideas of civility, diversity and academic enhancement, and how these values are important to the university.

"Civility carries a very basic fundamental assumption that everyone should be treated with civility," Clark said.

"I think civility creates an arena of social safety that allows us to treat others with respect," said Elizabeth Payne.

James Payne said the university setting gives people the chance to enjoy civility.

"Civility gives people the opportunity to appreciate things for yourself," he said.

Sansing said the learning atmosphere of a university can promote civility.

"One of the fundamental procedures of developing intelligence is to arrive at an open mind," Sansing said. "If you have an open mind, you will be civil."

Young-Minor said that while anger is constructive and hate is destructive, anger can be useful, like it was last week when students became angry over racial tensions in the Garland-Hedleston-Mayes dorm. The anger the students had made a difference, Young-Minor said.

"It came from the fact that someone had hate," she said.

Connell said civility and diversity are two interrelated issues.

"The two go very much hand in hand to me. When you create an environment of human kindness, your heart, soul and mind are at peace," Connell said.

Sansing said diversity is actually not the problem here.

"The problem is those of us actually getting to know each other," Sansing said. "There is no better time in your life than for you to do that right now. This is a golden opportunity to expand yourself."

Gray said that diversity means that while everyone may not always be right, people's differing opinions should be celebrated.

James Payne said achieving academic enhancement means looking beyond Mississippi.

"We have to get beyond concerning ourselves with issues in Mississippi," he said.

After the discussion, the panel took questions from the audience. The first question related to increasing the number of African-American students in the Honors College. Elizabeth Payne said a goal of the Honors College is to have African-Americans count for at least 20 percent of the students.

Another audience member wanted to know how the university hopes to put African-Americans receiving reparations for slavery and Jim Crow laws on the national agenda.

Finally, an international student from Taiwan commended the university for its educational opportunities while saying more need to be made available.