Ole Miss Alumni Association

Am in total agreement! I live in upper EAst TN now..have for over 25 years so we don't get to go to very many Rebel games. However, we went to Nashville to see the Rebs play Vandy and that's when I heard that "phrase" interjected into the song for the 1st time. I thought to myself then.."When did that start? Never heard that before. Wonder why ... See Morepeople are saying that?"...Please folks, as Shepard says..it is crucial for everyone to stop saying it..I love that song too...brings so many emotions up..always a great song to hear when we WIN! Would be a shame to stop playing the song. For many, many years and still today...recruiting is tough! Why make it so easy for the opposing schools?

I agree wholeheartedly. Peggy I think that phrase started in the last 8-10 years. I don't remember it at the 1992 Liberty Bowl. First time I heard it was 8 years ago when we took my son to his first Rebel game. It wasn't as loud then as it is now though.

this must of started after i left in 2001

As the chancellor come out and said something to that affect? I give much respect to Shep...

I agree. I saw evidence of it at the Cotton Bowl.

From Dixie with love is a compilation of Dixie and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. It is of South and North. It is triumphant and melancholy. It is played before and after every game. It is how we celebrate victory and morn defeat. I remember playing it in the Grove and in Death Valley when they turned out the stadium lights before the end of... See More the song to chase us off. This chant is a blemish that causes me to wince every time I hear it. The words that belong are from the Battle Hymn of the Republic and are “His truth is marching on”. If we are so inspired by this music that we need to join in, perhaps we should change the words to “Ole Miss is marching on”. That might improve this experience instead of making me dread hearing it played.

Well done, Shep. Yelling TSWRA isn't a tradition at all; it only started a few years ago by a handful of liquored up, knotheaded students. As a former liquored up, knothead student myself, I've tried to cut the kids a little slack -- but the chant has to go. I support the chancellor.

Very well said. I have been saying similar things since I was there in the late 50's and early 60's. It was even more difficult then. We have come a long way and we don't need to be taking backward steps.

Whole-heartedly agree! If TSWRA hurts any of us-it should hurt all of us!!!

Thanks Shep! I agree completely! If the loud minority do not stop this nonsense we will lose that beautiful song forever. GTH LSU!

I'm not sure when this started, I've never heard it. But saying something like this is just ignorance and only hurts the school we all love so much. Please stop doing this stupid chant!

Even when I was in school, in the early 90's no one chanted this... NOT a "tradition" at all. "Slow Dixie" IS a tradition, and I don't think it should be banned. It's really a shame a small group of students may ruin something that means to much to so many people.

In today's Daily Mississippian, some students were trying to make this a free speech issue. This misses the mark. Of course you have the freedom to say tswra. The real issue is, does it help or hurt Ole Miss. I think it clearly hurts.

Lots of things that are not a "tradition" are harmless. Simply cannot understand anyone attaching anything "racial" to this. Its purely PC, thats all. Seems everytime Ole Miss football hits a snag someone finds a new "racial" thing. Shame on the University President for supressing legal speech of any kind. Whats next, PC'ers!

I agree with Amelie Nolen above. She got it exactly right on all points. The song is beautiful, is tradition and we should keep it. I disagree with Harry Childs when he refers to those who like the song a "loud minority". I submit that the vast MAJORITY of students and alums like the song and want to keep it. It is a perfect way to end a ball ... See Moregame, and it's usually (or always) the instrumental version. If that one TSSRA phrase is being used as cheer, then that is a little different. But, don't ban the song. Change that phrase if necessary.

No one is "suppressing" free speech. These kids are free to yell it. The point is if you yell it, understand the implications. It is in poor taste. The chancellor is using his own right to speech to ask these kids not to yell something moronic. We call say or yell whatever we want, but in the real world, there are consequences. One such consequence... See More is From Dixie With Love won't be played. I wish the boneheads yelling TSWRA would excercise their freedom to clam up and let us continue to hear a great, great song.

Why is it poor taste, moronic or brings "bad" consequences? The King of England would be delighted, Thomas Jefferson would be appalled! It is a simple football game yell.

It's sad to me because Ole Miss is such a great University, & the perception of the school outside the south tends to be very negative. When my husband and I say how much, "WE LOVE IT", loved going to school, he loved playing football for the University... People are like "REALLY?" ... They don't see how two black students could have enjoyed it so ... See Moremuch, and it's purely based on the images that the school has historically put out there for the world to see. Yes, I think the students have a 'right to speak freely', BUT the chancellor has the 'right to make decisions that are BEST for the University as a whole'. The song should stay, the chant should go. PERIOD.

Absolutely, Latoya! if it hurts some of us-it really ultimately hurts ALL of us!

Glad to see our wonderful school continue to make progress in this area. Until this story broke a few weeks ago I was not even aware we did it. When someone asked me about it I was embarrassed to know we did. I recommend we stop worrying about the rise of the south and put all our efforts into the rise of our football program. GO REBS!!!

When Coach Nutt was still up here in Fayetteville, Hog fans flew signs sporting the phrase, "Houston, you are the problem." At one game, there was even a plane that flew a banner toting this very expression. Arkansas lost some great recruits over that phrase, what makes anyone think that "The South Will Rise Again" won't chase off prospects for ... See MoreOle Miss?
Now, that being said, I do worry that this is just another step to stripping the school of any tradition. We've lost our mascot, we are beginning to be referred to as Mississippi, rather than Ole Miss....what's next? I think if we tread too carefully, then we will still lose recruits.

I agree...keep the song, get rid of the chant "TSWRA". We're better than this! Hotty Toddy, Go Rebs, Go to Hell LSU! Thanks Shep!

I wouldn't do anything to hurt Ole Miss or recruiting, so I won't chant it anymore,

Keep the song, get rid of the chant!!!!

The song is part of history. Duh...the South is happy in the USA

Bravo, Shep! If we truly love Ole Miss, we should all want it to continue moving forward, not backward!

Lisa Blackman Miller: I am flummoxed by what you said about no longer chanting TSWRA merely because it could hurt Ole Miss or football recruiting. There's a bigger picture here -- beyond football and Ole Miss -- that you're not seeing. Plus, there's the tacit implication that you'll still be thinking TSWRA, just not voicing it. Assuming that your ... See Moreprofile picture is a picture of you, I would guess that you're 45 or older. As someone of that age, with the experience of life you've gained, why can't you see that chanting or even thinking TSWRA is just pathetic?

a "tradition" of segregation and racism is a good thing to be "stripped" of, Katherine.

I sat in the student section from 1994-2001 and NEVER heard TSWRA...must be a new thing.

Leo Vincent Seicshnaydre III: it took you 7 years to get a degree? From Ole Miss?

Yes, and PROUD of it.....Hotty Toddy.....!!!!!!

Amen, Shep! The actual lyrics of the song at the point where they chant TSWRA say "His truth is marching on"! If you want to chant something...chant that! You might actually being saying something that could make a difference. I'm just sayin'! :)

As a 1961 graduate and a Life Member of the Alumni Assoc. I almost croaked when the CSA battle flag was banned then I almost choked when Col Reb was taken away. Now, I see the benefits of those actions. Anything that hurts or belittles our great Ole Miss should come under close inspection and if found to be hurtful should be done away with. By ... See Morethe way, the South has already risen. Just look at the population growth and manufacturing growth below the Mason-Dixon line. Let the phrase die and support the best interests of OLE MISS. Hotty Toddy, Go to Hell LSU and Go to Hell Cow College.