A Response to Chancellor Jones

During a recent question-and-answer session with The Daily Mississippian, Chancellor Dan Jones stated that “none of us get to vote on anything we want to vote on at any given day; there’s a democratic process in place.”

The chancellor was addressing the concern of many students that they have been left without a voice in the discussion over the mascot issue.

One of the most cited reasons for concern is that students will never be allowed to choose Colonel Reb as an on-field mascot.

Apparently Chancellor Jones has a quite odd idea of democracy. I assume, in this context, he was alluding to the fact that “student leaders” are elected every year.

He seemingly believes this provides an “appropriate way” for the students to have input.

I concede that ASB elections are held every year. However, I will never believe that “there’s a democratic process in place.”

In fact, the whole system is rigged to appear democratic while, in reality, it is far from it.

Chancellor Jones, as well as other heads of Mississippi’s colleges and universities, is separated from voters by at least three degrees.

As registered voters, we elect a governor every four years.

According to Article 8, Section 213A of the Mississippi Code of 1972, the governor then has the power to “appoint the members of the board (The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning) with the advice and consent of the Senate.”

According to the same provision, the board of trustees “shall have the power and authority to elect the heads of the various institutions of higher learning.”

We have almost no input into who becomes chancellor of this university.

To be fair, the law ensures that Chancellor Jones cannot serve more than four years without being reconfirmed by the board. This might be serviceable if the people of Mississippi actually had some power in deciding who serves on the board of trustees.

The “student leaders” Chancellor Jones loves to compliment have no power.

Constitutionally speaking, Chancellor Jones has been appointed as the “head” of this university. As President Harry S. Truman famously said, “The buck stops here.”

That’s right, the buck stops with the chancellor.

At best, elected student leaders serve as a weak form of agenda setters.

At worst, they are used by the administration.

In the latter usage, the administration, in opposition to Truman’s principle, “passes the buck” to student leaders.

Put differently, student leaders are used to make the actions of the administration appear more legitimate.

In the end, the chancellor will only do what he wants.

Of course, he must also consider the desires of powerful politicians and big donors.

Students only figure into the calculation as pawns which can be used to obtain a desired outcome.

Sure, the administration may have been slowed by the actions of students, but it has never been completely stopped. When Chancellor Khayat removed Colonel Reb as the on-field mascot in 2003, a vote was held for the students. What was the result of that vote? 94 percent of the students that voted (approximately 12 percent of the student body) supported retaining Colonel Reb as the on-field mascot.

However, the administration did not support the students.

The current administration will never support the opinions of students — unless the opinions expressed align with their own.

You can listen to Chancellor Jones’ theory that a democratic process is in existence, or you can come to the realization that the system is rigged.

The latter will be much more difficult because you must accept the idea that things aren’t always as they appear.

Stop viewing every instance of changing traditions as separate. This is a war on the traditions of our school.

Don’t fully trust the chancellor when he says that he doesn’t “have any intent of beginning” a discussion on ending our identity as “Ole Miss” or “Rebels.”

I’m sure he won’t “begin” the discussion. He will just use the ASB to “begin” it for him.

Then he will swoop in to “support our students (the ASB) and the things they want.”

This is the way things are done in Mississippi’s public universities and colleges.

We cannot stand for such. Demand that state leaders give the people more power in determining who is in charge of our institutions of higher learning. Never forget former Senator Barry Goldwater’s assessment that “Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven and earth.”

--As Appeared in The Daily Mississippian on Monday, February 15, 2010