Serious Question: Is Ole Miss good for the State of Mississippi?

[ShotgunDawg]

Been thinking about this, and after today felt it needed to be asked.

Medical Center doesn't count. It is the State's medical center and an entity that virtually no one ties with Ole Miss.

1. Lots of out of state students.

2. Produces more lawyers in a state that already has statically too many lawyers.

3. Liberal art degrees do very little to stimulate the economy unless they start a business, which it doesn't matter what degree you have.

4. They have massive racial problems that make everyone in Mississippi look bad.

So, seriously, is Ole Miss actually a good thing for the state of Mississippi or would the state be better off if it didn't exist?

If Ole Miss is good for MS, what to they offer or bring to the table that makes Mississippi a better place?

[justwin]

it's become a haven for malcontents and criminal behavior. you would really think that some of this would finally start dying off through the generations, but like an STD...they just won't go away. I've lived all over the country after graduating and it's comical how bad the nat'l perception of MS is due to the Webels. There's no way around it...it's just really sad to be associated with them


Been thinking about this, and after today felt it needed to be asked.

Medical Center doesn't count. It is the State's medical center and an entity that virtually no one ties with Ole Miss.

1. Lots of out of state students.

2. Produces more lawyers in a state that already has statically too many lawyers.

3. Liberal art degrees do very little to stimulate the economy unless they start a business, which it doesn't matter what degree you have.

4. They have massive racial problems that make everyone in Mississippi look bad.

So, seriously, is Ole Miss actually a good thing for the state of Mississippi or would the state be better off if it didn't exist?

If Ole Miss is good for MS, what to they offer or bring to the table that makes Mississippi a better place?

[Gen. Grant]

NO.

[Dawg61]

I hate the Rebels more than most but this is a ridiculous question to ask. Any place of higher education is good for the state. Don't be a dumbass dude. Look on the bright side. Now you know where the largest congregation of assholes is in the state and you can avoid going there. If that school isn't there then you might have some of those assholes living next door to you. Ole Miss is like Australia before it became a country and the British sent all their prisoners there except in this case it's assholes and not prisoners. Well some of them are prisoners too.

[CJDAWG85]

I dislike that school with a passion, but this topic is just ignorant. Yes, it seems a lot of issues like this happen up there more than other schools in this area. I just think it is because it's the history of the university and most of the students come from money and feel like they are invincible.

[Todd4State]

I hate the Rebels more than most but this is a ridiculous question to ask. Any place of higher education is good for the state. Don't be a dumbass dude. Look on the bright side. Now you know where the largest congregation of assholes is in the state and you can avoid going there. If that school isn't there then you might have some of those assholes living next door to you. Ole Miss is like Australia before it became a country and the British sent all their prisoners there except in this case it's assholes and not prisoners. Well some of them are prisoners too.

This is so true.

[dawgoneyall]

It helps keep the rif-raft from attending State. It has a purpose.

[Dawgface]

Hopefully you were intoxicated when you posted this because its a dumb topic.

[bulldawg28]

The guy asked a simple question no need for name calling.

[BrunswickDawg]

I'm more offended by the bashing of the liberal arts degrees than anything -there are a lot of us from State that have them, use them, and make a solid living with them.

[RougeDawg]

They definitely don't do anything positive for the image of ms. Shenanigans like this and their attitudes of only associating with minorities who can win you a football or basketball game tends to create a certain perception. The Oxford demographics and interactions (or lack thereof) amongst the groups of citizens was pretty obvious and telling to the OM mindset. Never noticed how bad it actually was, until this past thanksgiving break when I stayed up there hunting.

[Johnson85]

Any place of higher education is good for the state.

Not really. Institutes of higher learning suck up a lot of resources. We probably have 3 to 5 too many public universities in the State. If Ole Miss was not there, you'd just see bigger enrollments at MSU, USM, and Delta State. Each of those universities would be better while the cumulative increase in their budgets would be a fraction of UM's. But you could make this argument for any public university in Mississippi.

But if there wasn't Ole Miss, in all likelihood the jackasses that keep causing racist incidents probably would have adopted another school so we'd still end up with embarrassing incidents. Maybe not as many of them, but plenty of them.

[FlabLoser]

You can't just say UMC doesn't count. UMC is Ole Miss and UMC is good for our state.

I'll say Ole Miss's old south bullshit is bad for the state, and I'll stop there.

[Political Hack]

the law school ultimately is despite the tort issues we've faced. UMC too, although that is separate.

outside of that, no. they're a continual reminder of a heritage of hate and a constant embarrassment to the entire state.

[Coach34]

It's their absolute refusal to get rid of old South idealogy and symbols. When you have a heritage of doing things wrong- it's time to change that. They refuse. "Old Times are not forgotten"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTUCob8hB1s

That video is a reminder of who they are- and also of what continues to manifest itself time after time because they refuse to change.

[Jack Lambert]

Right now they are bad for Mississippi. Everything you hear comming out of that school is bad.

[esplanade91]

I'm ashamed of the old south bullshit, but I don't think it does anything for them to get rid of it when our state flag is hanging from the capital (and government buildings all over the country representing our people).

I just want to point out that this stuff isn't just happening at U of UM. They certainly get a lot of press for it, fairly so... this seems to happen more than normal there, but there were things that happened at MSU while I was there. USM had an even more brutal integration process (not sure how that's possible) and no one seems to know that. It's not just southern schools either. It's northern schools and schools all around the world. Unfortunately because the image our government officials portrayed on television in the newspapers when all this shit went down we as southeasterners unfairly get the media attention and it sticks.

The best thing we can all do is become great ambassadors for the state of Mississippi. Ole Miss be damned. But I'm getting tired of this shit, that's for sure.

[lefty96]

It's their absolute refusal to get rid of old South idealogy and symbols. When you have a heritage of doing things wrong- it's time to change that. They refuse. "Old Times are not forgotten"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTUCob8hB1s

That video is a reminder of who they are- and also of what continues to manifest itself time after time because they refuse to change.

It is this. It isn't the school or the fact it is in an institute of higher learning. It is that either actively or passively that school promotes ideals and thoughts that are counter productive to Mississippi moving forward. So in that way, yes, the school is a liability for those from and living in Mississippi.

[Pollodawg]

What OM fans seem to fail to grasp is that they can keep the nice antebellum buildings on campus, and they can keep the Center for Southern studies and whatnot, but let it be just that. Let Southern History be Southern History. Don't drag it to the surface every time you get an opportunity.

[dawgclub99]

No. We have way too many universities in this state as it is. Let MSU be the school for the North, USM for the South and keep the other Universities as they are. Get rid of OM. It is a shit bed for racism. They cant keep the klan off of campus. It just gives the people of Mississippi a bad name and I am tired of it.

[ghostofjackie]

They are a shit-stain on the perception of our state and they don't even realize it. They actually think the loveliness of Oxford will make up for the way the media and people from all around the country view them. Mississippi would be better served not having these racist idiots running around claiming superiority.

[bannedwayne]

Been thinking about this, and after today felt it needed to be asked.

Medical Center doesn't count. It is the State's medical center and an entity that virtually no one ties with Ole Miss.

1. Lots of out of state students.

2. Produces more lawyers in a state that already has statically too many lawyers.

3. Liberal art degrees do very little to stimulate the economy unless they start a business, which it doesn't matter what degree you have.

4. They have massive racial problems that make everyone in Mississippi look bad.

So, seriously, is Ole Miss actually a good thing for the state of Mississippi or would the state be better off if it didn't exist?

If Ole Miss is good for MS, what to they offer or bring to the table that makes Mississippi a better place?

Yes.

1. Brings money to OUR state.
2. Only law school at a public university - necessary.
3. Agree that liberal arts degrees are mostly worthless, but OM has alot of other majors, including a good accounting and business school.
4. I am of the opinion that the "massive racial problems" are a few idiots. Yes, the culture there seems to allow this to happen more often, and I don't know why. I know plenty of Bears that aren't racist or bigoted, and I've met a few that are. I also know plenty of dawgs that aren't racist or bigoted, but unfortunately I've met a few that are.

Mississippi needs an institution like OM. Sure, it could be better run if the administration got rid of their "good ole boy" line of admins, but overall the SCHOOL is solid. We NEED a public law school, we NEED liberal arts programs (although we don't need as many students in them), and we NEED those damn out of state kids to go somewhere so we can take their money (and I'd rather put them there than in Starkville).

OM fans always like to say that bullshit line about how you "graduate from the university but never graduate from OM." It sounds stupid (and it is), but I think it applies here. The SCHOOL of OM is decent, the culture of OM is bullshit.

[grinnindawg]

I'd say no on the whole.
OM grads control much of the politics ,both elected and under the table, in the state.
I think the record of MS in so many areas indicts them.
OM grads control so much of the politics in the state it's hard not to blame that somewhat on the plantation mentality.

There are a lot of good people that go there and are productive members of society.
There are also a significant percentage of goofballs.
A lot of those people seem to stay in MS.

The State grads who could counterbalance the goofballs seem much more likely to leave the state.

[esplanade91]

Yes.

1. Brings money to OUR state.
2. Only law school at a public university - necessary.
3. Agree that liberal arts degrees are mostly worthless, but OM has alot of other majors, including a good accounting and business school.
4. I am of the opinion that the "massive racial problems" are a few idiots. Yes, the culture there seems to allow this to happen more often, and I don't know why. I know plenty of Bears that aren't racist or bigoted, and I've met a few that are. I also know plenty of dawgs that aren't racist or bigoted, but unfortunately I've met a few that are.

Mississippi needs an institution like OM. Sure, it could be better run if the administration got rid of their "good ole boy" line of admins, but overall the SCHOOL is solid. We NEED a public law school, we NEED liberal arts programs (although we don't need as many students in them), and we NEED those damn out of state kids to go somewhere so we can take their money (and I'd rather put them there than in Starkville).

OM fans always like to say that bullshit line about how you "graduate from the university but never graduate from OM." It sounds stupid (and it is), but I think it applies here. The SCHOOL of OM is decent, the culture of OM is bullshit.

At this point I wouldn't necessarily say we NEED a public law school when there is one down the road actually in our state's capital that is cheaper and easier to get into that is largely perceived as an equal education. I agree that we need Ole Miss like Ole Miss needs us (imagine if they didn't have agriculture funding their school), but they need to clean house administration wise... and by that I also mean yall need to quit voting for these assholes in Jackson who keep giving them money and largely overlook their wrong-doings.

Mississippi State has always taken a backseat in Mississippi politics. I always like to point that out to my Ole Miss friends when referring to how shitty Mississippi is sometimes, but in all seriousness it would be nice having some influential people in the state, ones not funded by Dickie Scruggs.

On the flipside of that I'm glad that our alumni for the most part aren't big enough scum to aspire to be politicians (anarchy!).