BLOG — A political action committee with the goal of bringing Colonel Rebel back as the official mascot of Ole Miss got some positive news today when Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann certified an initiative to bring it to a potential public vote.Hosemann certified Initative 37 Tuesday morning after it was filed by Arthur Randallson, the Director of the Colonel Reb Political Action Committee, which has a post office box listed out of Southaven. Randallson and his followers seek to re-instate Colonel Rebel as the “official and sole mascot” of Ole Miss, according to a statement released by the group.
The next step for the group is to garner at least 100,000 signatures from registered voters in the state so that the initiative can appear on the 2012 Mississippi Presidential Election Ballot. The state requires that the signatures be evenly divided among the former map of five Mississippi’s congressional districts.
The statement released today states the agenda of the Colonel Reb Political Action Committee, which is not affiliated with the Colonel Reb Foundation, is to have a vote across the state that includes Colonel Reb as a choice for Ole Miss’ mascot. Colonel Reb was not on the ballot in the university’s replacement mascot election, conducted in October 2010, when “Rebel the Black Bear” was chosen as the new mascot and the group has been trying to get that changed ever since. (September 6, 2011)
I am interested in helping collect signatures for Union County.
i am totally interested in helping to collect in Pike Co.!! Please let me know what to do
If you are interested in helping collect signatures for your County contact us at colonelrebpac.com. Thank you in advance for your support to reinstate Colonel Reb.
Butch Harris
Board Member Colonel Reb
POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
Where do we sign? Can help in Rankin county
In my heart Colonel Rebel is the true mascot.
You people need to move on. Col Reb hasn’t been around in almost 10 years. A silly mascot is the least of the government’s problems. Col Reb is not Ole Miss.
Dumb.
Are you people serious? Colonel Reb is gone. Support your school and stop dividing the fanbase. Ole Miss has decided to remove him. If you don’t like it, go root for Southern Miss or Miss. State.
You’re idiots and so is this guy. What is it exactly that you think bringing Colonel Rebel back will do? It’s great to have traditions, but don’t let them keep you from embracing the future.
I got Oktibbeha County!!!!
Where do I sign up to erase signatures?
Aren’t there more important things our political leaders could be focusing on in MS? You know, making sure we aren’t last in every category that matters?
You bears are crazy.
I wonder what kind of jail time one would be looking at for spitting on a petition? I think I could do a few days in the slammer for the satisfaction the looks on your stupid redneck faces would bring. You peole are acting like they killed the pope or something. All this “col reb will always live in our hearts forever XXOO lol” crap is a little melodramatic. Get over it already. If it matters that much to you, then you need a serious reexamination of your life. Either you love a stupid foam headed costume or you love your school. Decide. And if you decide the former rather than the latter, then you won’t be missed.
Really??
Come on Delbert. Is this really what you were elected to do?
Congrats to the people that will not let this go. You make us ALL
look like lunatic racists.
Start a PAC to demand a better basketball team too since you
obviously have too much time and nothing of substance to do with it!
This is unbelievable.
If you need help getting signatures in Oktibbeha county let me know.
Dan M
I just got a call and Coach O said he’ll help.
You don’t have to sign the petition. That’s your right. I have the same right to sign it if I choose. We are not racists, but continue to label us. Your venom says more about you than it does us.
I predict most of these negative comments are from the school beneath Ole Miss. Wonder how they’d react if they took away the beloved dog? I’ll definitely sign.
Does no one realize that this won’t work because if it actually goes to vote every State fan will vote against it because they love that we have a Bear as our Mascot.
No one talks about the dog on the field at the TN games and no one says anything about the elephant at the Bama games… why can’t it be the same for Ole Miss. We should just be proud we are the Rebels and not talk about bears or the col. We should be worried about the fact that none of our major sports teams play as well as they should and figure out how to fix that.
All these people that didn’t want Colonel Reb as mascot for Ole Miss any longer sure don’t have a problem eating Colonel Sanders chicken…just saying….thanks Delbert, will support you fully on this. At least someone has the guts to stand up for what’s right.
YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW
YAW
YAW
Admiral Ackbar
YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW YAW
YAW YAW
Black Bear
Where do I go to find the list of names of people who sign this thing? Now, THAT is the million dollar question.
Yes, this is exactly what our legislature needs; something to distract them from fixing real problems in this state.
i will sign defiantlyand so will my fiance just tell us where
First of all, how many of the people who support this actually went to Ole Miss? I fully support anyone’s right to free expression, and for that reason, I’m going to exercise my own. What people don’t realize is that, more than anything, it is the University’s job to prepare their students for the work force. Continuing pursuit of this ridiculous issue only serves to make our school look, well, quite silly, and also racist (despite whether people part of the moment are or aren’t; that’s how it looks). It diminishes the marketability of my degree on a national level, and I’m not happy about it. Anyone who loves Ole Miss because of a stupid cartoon character doesn’t really love what’s wonderful about the school – not having an English class in Bondurant, or sitting in the Quad on an afternoon, not listening to the bells play the alma mater at 7:55 in the morning. They only look to Ole Miss as a symbol of a time long since past, which only serves to perpetuate a reputation of the University that in no way resembles its true character. Go forth on your mission, Col. Reb PAC. Whatever happens with it, I content myself with the fact that as a fifth-generation graduate of the school, you poor, misguided souls have not the sense or ability to truly understand your actions, or the inaccuracy of the reflection it places on my beloved University.
This is insane. The state should no more vote on a mascot at a University than they should vote on who gets to live in what dorm room! As Mississippians we need to be focused on other issues. Those of you wanting to further this cause are only furthering hate, division, and living in the past. We are not the first school to change mascots and we will certainly not be the last. Let’s raise money and awareness for things that really matter. Those of you willing to go out and solict signatures in your county- how about you volunteer that time instead to working at a homeless shelter or the food pantry in your area. Good grief!!! LET IT GOT!!!! Hotty Toddy!!!
This is literally something people care enough about to form Political Action Committees over in the year of our Lord, 2011. Speechless.
How about let people support Colonel Rebel if they want too. I definately will. The bear is a joke. But honestly, leave it to the Ole Miss Fans and Alumni. Stop trolling forums when its not your concern or business.
As if the state government doesn’t have better things to do. It’s not like we’re last in education and obesity.
Oh wait. We are.
Yet here we are trying to get back a stupid mascot.
By the way, I’m an Ole Miss fan.
I’ll work Madison County. Let me know what to do……….
I am so proud to have elected representatives that really know exactly what this state needs. Forget about the fact that public education in Mississippi is in such a state that high school class valedictorians have to take remedial reading at Ole Miss. Forget about the fact that Highway 6 from Clarksdale to Batesville needs to be 4-laned to promote the I69 corridor and possibly bring some industry to the job starved Delta. Forget about the fact that because of our legal system we have allowed open season on doctors in the state resulting in the departure of OBGYN’s and surgical specialists. Forget about the fact that unemployment in the state is well above the national average. Yeah, forget all that, we don’t need it. We can continue to deteriorate to the point where the entire state needs federal assistance. Our state representatives really know what’s important. It’s just so important that they force one of the few shining stars in the state to move backward right when they have done so much to move forward. I don’t care what the mascot is. Believe me; the people behind this don’t care for Ole Miss. They don’t have a Phi Beta Kappa key; they don’t even know what that is. They never set foot in the Honors College or understand what the National Center for Physical Acoustics does and I seriously doubt they ever read a novel by Faulkner. If those fine representatives are able to get this idiotic thing on the ballot, I will proudly vote NO!
Good luck with this attempt to wrest the legacy of Ole Miss from the weak spirited misguided fools who have attempted to destroy it. I now live in Williamson county TN and can’t vote for it but will be glad to support the initiative.
One thing people here need to learn is that Mississippi can never atone enough for the rest of the country or for the media or for academia or any of those who are considered the arbiters of American culture today. So quit trying and beating yourself up and embrace our uniqueness and way of life and traditions. There are a no finer better mannered and cultured and God fearing and charitable group of folks in America today than to be found in my home state. Bar known. I’ve lived practically everywhere. Purging Ole Miss of all Southerness is destroying it. If you want that then go to school up north. Why go thru life apologizing for where you are from? Why apologize anyhow, for what?
The taxpayers of Mississippi support Ole Miss as do the alumni to some degree. The vote to ban Colonel Reb was voted on by students and only 20% even voted. Now tell me who has more legitimacy to vote on the issue? Those who pay for the school or the students, some of whom pay and many whose parents do? This is not a private university.
Ole Miss 1981
Libtards have ruined Ole Miss , just as they have ruined our country. They have no problem with minorities who take pride in their respective histories and cultures, but want whites to feel ashamed of their past. Unfortunately, the only legal way to overturn policies forced upon us by libs is to bring issues to a vote. Remeber libs, you reap what you sow.