Beyond the incident itself, I'm astounded that there are dorms on a public-university campus that are mostly black or mostly white. Is this the case at other public universities? Confused and disturbed by that.

Reports this morning that they are outside Jackson Prep. They strike me as the "God Hates Fags" equivalent: going for shock value. And they must be desperate since the election Tuesday so they'll do anything for attention. I'm not sure how targeting kids outside schools will help their cause, however. Seems dumb.

Protesters also told R.L. that Obamacare mandates abortion. *facepalm*

I thought the same thing, Knowledge. I've asked reporting staff to check it out.

Lafayette County Political Party Comments on Election Night Events at Ole Miss

For immediate release, 7 Nov 2012, Oxford, Mississippi

###

The Democratic and Republican Executive Committees of Lafayette County collectively join Chancellor Dan Jones in condemning the inappropriate behavior displayed on campus last night. Although our organizations encourage spirited debate and engagement among University of Mississippi students on political campaigns, there is no place for divisive and disrespectful confrontations like those that occurred on campus last night. The heat of the campaign is no excuse for violent words or actions. We too encourage our students and our community to revisit the university creed we all hold dear, which calls for us to represent ourselves with dignity, civility, and integrity. As both Democrats and Republicans, we have full faith in our University leadership to continue to set a standard of tolerance, high character, and a respect for others. We expect all Ole Miss students to rise to that example, as the majority of our students already do.

Justin Cluck, Chair of the Lafayette County Democratic Committee
Geoffrey Yoste, Chair of the Lafayette County Republican Committee

The university's statement today, verbatim:

The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)

11/7/2012

Statement from the University of Mississippi

oxford, Miss. – University police were notified by students shortly before midnight Tuesday that Twitter chatter was indicating students were gathering near the student union to protest the results of the election. The officers found 30-40 students gathered in front of the union, and over the next 20 minutes the gathering had grown to more than 400 students, many of whom were chanting political slogans. The crowd was ordered to disperse by university police, and after about 25 minutes students had returned to residence halls. About 100 students gathered again at one hall, and university police dispersed the group and made two arrests for disorderly conduct, including one for public intoxication and one for failure to comply with police orders.

“While we are grateful that there were no injuries and there was no property damage, we are very disappointed in those students who took a very immature and uncivil approach to expressing their views about the election,” said University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones. “The gathering seems to have been fueled by social media, and the conversation should have stayed there.”

“Unfortunately, early news reports quoted social media comments that were inaccurate. Too, some photographs published in social media portrayed events that police did not observe on campus. Nevertheless, the reports of uncivil language and shouted racial epithets appear to be accurate and are universally condemned by the university, student leaders and the vast majority of students who are more representative of our university creed.”

Jones said, “Parents are being notified that it’s a normal day on campus and that one of America’s safest campuses is safe again this morning, though all of us are ashamed of the few students who have negatively affected the reputations of each of us and of our university. We are initiating a thorough review of this incident to determine the facts and any follow-up actions that may be necessary.”

Jones said, “We are reminding our students of relevant statements within the university creed: The University of Mississippi is a community of learning dedicated to nurturing excellence in intellectual inquiry and personal character in an open and diverse environment. As a voluntary member of this community: I believe in respect for the dignity of each person. I believe in fairness and civility. I believe in personal and professional integrity.”

Here's Chancellor Jones' statement today, verbatim:

November 7, 2012

Dear Ole Miss Family,

There are media reports of incidents on our campus last evening in the wake of the election results being announced. First, let me assure all of you that the campus is quiet and safe this morning for all of our students. While the investigation into last night’s events continues, we are grateful there are no reports of injuries or property damage.

The reports of the use of racial language by some have been confirmed by our campus police. The University leadership strongly condemns this kind of behavior and is embarrassed that any students associated with the university would use this kind of language. Our university creed calls for the respect of each individual and for fairness and civility. The investigation of this event will be thorough and individuals found in violation of any law will be referred to appropriate authorities. Individuals found in violation of university policy will be dealt with appropriately through the student conduct process.

As we have acknowledged throughout this year of recognizing fifty years of racial integration at our university, despite evidence of progress, we still live in an imperfect world. All of us in the university community must recommit ourselves to condemn hate and to continue our work to assure our university is a safe and welcoming place for every individual every day.

Sincerely,
Daniel W. Jones, MD
Chancellor

The Slate story nails it on the problem with institutional racism in media:

> The white-run political press remained
> in denial about Romney's narrowly
> race-based candidacy right up to the
> end, mistaking the anomalies inside
> the white bubble for the general
> political climate. Thus in the final
> week before the election, the New York
> Times reported from Pennsylvania:
>
> "[T]here is a tangible sense—seen in
> Romney yard signs on the expansive
> lawns of homes in the well-heeled
> suburbs, and heard in the excited
> voices of Republican mothers who make
> phone calls to voters in their spare
> time—that the race is tilting toward
> Mr. Romney."
>
> Obama won Pennsylvania by five points.

Not only have so much media missed the realities of our new demographics, but they have not called out blatant racism in the vast majority of cases. They need to grow up and be responsible.

BTW, that story points out that Romney ran a classist and racist campaign -- both huge problems (that often overlap) for the GOP.

Now, we need to also ask when the political media are going to start calling this stuff out for what it is and ensure that they are diverse enough to know what they're seeing. How's your diversity looking, Politico?

The hand-wringing over the GOP's race/extremism problem is really heating up after last night. [Politico reported these statements by Republicans today][1]:

> “Our party needs to realize that it’s
> too old and too white and too male and
> it needs to figure out how to catch up
> with the demographics of the country
> before it’s too late,” said Al
> Cardenas, the head of the American
> Conservative Union and a longtime GOP
> leader. “Our party needs a lot of work
> to do if we expect to be competitive
> in the near future.”

Rep. Cory Gardner
> (R-Colo.), a prospective 2014
> statewide candidate in a state moving
> sharply to the middle, was just as
> blunt: “After tonight, the GOP had
> better figure out that a big tent
> sounds good, but if there aren’t any
> seats in it, what good is it.” The
> desperate straits Republicans find
> themselves in are structural. But
> Romney should not be completely
> absolved of responsibility for his
> party’s ebb. He galloped to the right
> on immigration and reproductive issues
> in the GOP primary and only awkwardly
> attempted to move to the middle on
> those issues in the fall. His 50s-era
> persona was almost comically far
> removed from Americans who are in
> their 20s and 30s. And he never
> attempted to distance himself from or
> truly challenge a Republican Party
> that still bears bruises left from the
> Bush years.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/11…

[1]: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/11…