If the Editorial Board of the Daily Mississippian had ever bothered to interview student leaders of the Colonel Reb Foundation they might be surprised at what they would learn.  But instead they wish to distort what we have said in public and slander us in print. 

We have never said that voting “NO” will bring back Colonel Reb. We have always said that voting YES will bring some random new mascot that the administration – not the students - want as the new mascot.

In 2003 the University said they would lead a "student-led" competition to create a new mascot. The suggestions they came up with were Bruiser Reb - copyrighted by the University in 2001 - and Rowdy Rebel – created by a marketing firm hired by the University that year. Does that sound "student led" to anyone?

Employees of the Cirlot Agency in Jackson are upset that they did not get the contract to create the new mascot in November 2009 - just three months ago. They tell us that a firm in Hattiesburg got the contract. Does that sound "student led" to anyone?

Editors of the DM said that while 94 percent of students voted to keep Colonel

Reb in 2003 that statistic was “grossly misleading” because only 11 percent of the student body actually voted that way.  Well, only 14 percent of the student body voted for ASB President Artair Rogers in 2009, 15 percent voted for ASB President Virginia Burke this past Tuesday, and just 23 percent of Americans voted for President Obama in 2008.  Did the DM report it that way?  No.

They only use their distorted math against Colonel Reb and the positive choice students made in 2003.

And, yes, our Facebook account has been disabled to send messages to our 8000 members. We have reached out to Facebook by phone, e-mail, fax and Fed Ex. They will not respond to us.  They will not respond to the media’s attempt to find out why, either. 

We believe that if the DM did any real reporting and research instead of kissing the administration's butt so they don't get cut back from a daily paper to a weekly paper, as has been discussed, they might learn a few things.

This is just the beginning of the problems we have with the process. We have been down this road before. We do not want the students to be lied to again.

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The Colonel Reb Foundation is a non-profit organization formed by students at Ole Miss in 2003 dedicated to preserving the 70-year tradition of having Colonel Reb as the mascot and logo of the University of Mississippi.

Colonel Reb Foundation¨PO Box 2561¨Oxford, MS 38655¨www.SaveOleMiss.com