How's Ole Miss?

[GrandviewGloria]

Originally Posted by palustris

There's nothing OK about making a parody of lynchings, nor trying to rationalize that type of behavior, nor being indifferent or blasè to the matter. I would hope that the folks up there at Ole Miss felt like-wise and were trying to expel that mindset along with those kids. At my undergrad institution nobody would've imagined pulling something like that. It would have been regarded as an embarrassment to the town, the institution and the students.

Can't even be indifferent or blasè? Wow! Somebody's really been indoctrinated.

Frankly, I don't anticipate your having an enjoyable time at Ole Miss. If it's an option, you would be best advised to consider other options.

Having a strong opinion about anything (other than 'team spirit', and maybe bourbon or brands of cigarettes) is considered bad form at Ole Miss.

Mississippians, particularly the middle and upper classes, reserve their most withering contempt for people who hold strong opinions. And believe me: you have not experienced withering contempt, until you have experienced it in Mississippi - particularly when dished-out by an Ole Miss alum. A Mississippi socialite, when in Withering Contempt Mode, can make Christine Baranski at her meanest look like Mary Poppins at her sweetest. You could die. People do die, quite frequently, after experiencing the sort of world-class snubbing you can get in The World of Ole Miss*.

I knew the Heir-apparent to a major retail empire, who went to Ole Miss. His old frat brothers endlessly (and decades later) ridicule him. "Oh, HIM, he was on the G-- Squad. What a fool. He makes me sick." The Power Elite in Jackson has subtly frozen him out of of the inner circles where the real money is made. And when a predatory merger made off with the bulk of his family's assets, the Ole Miss Elite did nothing to intervene, as they regularly do with those they consider 'Their Own'. He had strong religious beliefs, and went "off the Deep End", when trying to share them at school. At Ole Miss, its best if you don't have any beliefs about anything.

And if they are willing to freeze someone out, over zealous adherence to standard Baptist ideology, just imagine how they are going to treat someone coming in from out-of-state, spouting Socialist Egalitarian Marxist Party Line Dogma?

If you're seriously going to Ole Miss, I think you need to run down to Bal Harbour, right now, and stock-up on cashmere items. Because, if you start telling people at Ole Miss how to feel strongly about Civil Rights, it's gonna get really cold, up there in Oxford. http://www.neimanmarcus.com/Hanro-Us...0&cmCat=search There, Honey! I've already started shopping for you, up to the Bal Harbour Neiman's. Some nice silk & cashmere Long Johns are good as a 'foundation garment', for that first frosty reception you're gonna get when you start telling those people at Ole Miss how they need to think.

Here's a sample of Mississippians freezing someone out, Sixties-style. Since then, they've been studying Psychology for three generations, and are much better at it, today. Being snubbed back then was far more survivable than it is in the present day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbPSnrlbQtU

*Ole Miss is its own world. Ideally, it's a cradle-to-grave world, with its own values, own set of people, own economic engine. Ole Miss People have their own cliques in NYC, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, LA, New Orleans, Jackson... They have their own neighborhoods in the Jackson Metro (Eastover, Belhaven, Lost Rabbit...). And their power-brokering is formidable, even at the national level.

[AppalachianAngler]

Originally Posted by Rock Climber

You're kidding yourself if you think this type of stuff happens with regularity in other places. It happens occasionally, but not the same frequency as it does in Oxford. There is a different atmosphere there. I'm not claiming that the average Oxford person is racist, but there is an atmosphere at that school that attracts this kind of person.

You must have some kind of personal ax to grind with Ole Miss. One of your circuit court judges schooled at the University of Arkansas was just outed as a huge racist & sexist. And he got his seat by popular election. There are plenty of others educated there with a checkered past (dating back to a little situation in Little Rock), but do I think it attracts racists? No.

I have friends at almost every SEC school and there is virtually no difference in the atmosphere of say, Ole Miss vs. Alabama or Ole Miss vs. Auburn, or other Deep South schools. With Arkansas, they are in the hills with less diversity, but it's not much different.

OP,
feel free to PM me if you'd like. I had a good friend that earned his PhD in biology from Ole Miss.

[Rock Climber]

Originally Posted by AppalachianAngler

You must have some kind of personal ax to grind with Ole Miss. One of your circuit court judges schooled at the University of Arkansas was just outed as a huge racist & sexist. And he got his seat by popular election. There are plenty of others educated there with a checkered past (dating back to a little situation in Little Rock), but do I think it attracts racists? No.

I have friends at almost every SEC school and there is virtually no difference in the atmosphere of say, Ole Miss vs. Alabama or Ole Miss vs. Auburn, or other Deep South schools. With Arkansas, they are in the hills with less diversity, but it's not much different.

OP,
feel free to PM me if you'd like. I had a good friend that earned his PhD in biology from Ole Miss.

Hey a judge in Arkansas got outed as a racist. I read up on it and it appears he was and LSU fan. So having an old guy who is a judge post racist things on some LSU fan board is the same as having a civil rights statue vandalized on a campus, a girl being racially abused, and a rebel-flag rally of sorts on the town square....in the same week?

For the record, I neither attended the University of Arkansas, nor am I from Arkansas originally.

My wife and I chose to live in Fayetteville because my profession and to a lesser degree my wife's profession make that pretty much our only choice--a college town. That and we were seeking a smaller place for our family which had some of the same appeal to us of my and my wife's adopted home of Austin.

I have no personal axe to grind against Mississippi or Ole Miss or Oxford. There is actually quite a lot of beauty to be found in the state, particularly architectural beauty.

I have visited and spent time in both Oxford and Starkville, and actually had the choice as to whether or not to make Oxford our home. We chose not to, and that choice was based on many factors and I don't lie when I say that one of those deciding factors what what we percieved as the prevalent atmosphere we encountered there. I honestly feel like I've been rather diplomatic in my description of the place. Gloria seems to understand Oxford and as she says "Ole Miss people" quite well.

Lets just say its not any surprise to me at all to read the postings of a kid who wants to come all the way across the nation to attend Ole Miss, and find out that he is a far right social conservative who argues for "states rights!" over individual civil rights. Not surprising at all.

Culturally and socially, I view Fayetteville to be quite liberal and in some ways it was shocking to us to find that in Arkansas. I was also surprised when a local friend posted that he marched in Little Rock's first ever Gay Pride Parade in 2013, when Fayetteville has a very well-established gay pride event and parade that seems to have existed for the past twenty years with no problems. Our favorite hamburger joint just happens to be underground practically right beneath one of this little city's three gay bars, and nobody cares or even thinks about it as something strange. That's very unique for a small-ish southern college town. There are cultural differences city to city, even within the same small state. Hell, look at Austin compared to red Texas.

Having spent a lot of time in many southern college towns, and comparing them to Austin or the one which I now call home, I can tell you they are definitely not the same. You can continue to pretend that everyone picks on Ole Miss and that the reputation is not deserved, and that the entire structure of the school isn't one that appeals heavily to a particular type of student.

The honest reason I've even followed the various debates or posts on this site is because I find Gloria to be rather entertaining and I've told her as much. Such wonderful literary style is rare on the random rabble of the internet.

[afoxinrockport]

Sorry I'm late on this one. Looks like the other posts have addressed food, outdoors, etc. I live in another state now, but I graduated with a BS in biology from Ole Miss. While I was a student and the summer after graduation, I worked with various professors in the Biology department, and I can tell you that the professors are well connected with these organizations in MS and surrounding states. If you've matched yourself well with your professor, you'll have an easier time (actually be interested in what he/she is researching so that it will make your time a bit easier- not just in it for the degree). If you work hard in your studies, in the field, in the lab/research, if you develop a relationship with your professor and the other graduate students, then it will help in terms of networking. Get to know the other professors and their research as well. It's a smaller department than some, so you should make an effort to become familiar with all that's going on. I don't think a degree from U of M will slow you down in terms of getting a job. Any serious organization looking to hire will see beyond where your degree came from (if that matters anyway) and look more at how you spent your time there, what work you did, and so forth. Good luck!

[mydogisyella]

Originally Posted by palustris

I appreciate everyone's responses so far.

Going deeper on academic subject, how is the reputation of Ole Miss in Mississippi, as well as in the surrounding states like Tennessee and Arkansas? I'm thinking down the road a bit, for job hunting after graduation, and I would like to know what y'all think the weight a graduate degree (an M.S. in biology) from Ole Miss would carry.

I'm hoping to make connections with employers, such as Mississippi's dept of wildlife, environment, etc., during grad school through my academic adviser and faculty, but I'm just trying to get a sense for the general academic reputation of the university across Mississippi and that part of the South.

I graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in the natural sciences and work on environmental stuff. I don't handle bugs & bunnies, but have worked with lots of people who have. One word of caution: If you want to work for the State of MS the salaries are not great. State jobs in most states in these programs are not great. Or at least not initially. I worked as a regulator in another state and while regulatory work was interesting, I wanted to bang my head against the wall. Often. If that floats your boat, go for it. If you think you are going to work for State wildlife or DEQ and do fantastic research where you'll be engaged with saving the world -- just don't. You'll spend most of your time fighting with the feds. Personally if you wanted to go down the state employment route, I think a masters is overkill. Federal work is different and I do think a masters would make a difference at the federal level.

If you are thinking of pursuing the environmental track I would give A LOT OF THOUGHT NOW as to what area you want to focus before you go down the road. Wildlife Biologists often get involved in the environmental departments for the Forest Service and military installations writing NEPA reports, bird studies, impact assessments are where I think you would fit on a long-term career path realistically speaking. You would have a better chance IMHO with federal government job in terms of opportunities and pay. Honestly look at job postings on usajobs to get a realistic idea of jobs available.

Maybe there are biology professors at Ole Miss with environmental backgrounds who could provide better information. I didn't study biology so can't say. However, my broad stroke guess is that that schools in coastal areas would have better research opportunities. LSU comes to mind as do most schools in Florida in terms wildlife/environmental/ecology path. Or maybe not, again, I have no experience directly with Ole Miss biology professor backgrounds.

[palustris]

Originally Posted by mydogisyella

I graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in the natural sciences and work on environmental stuff. I don't handle bugs & bunnies, but have worked with lots of people who have. One word of caution: If you want to work for the State of MS the salaries are not great. State jobs in most states in these programs are not great. Or at least not initially. I worked as a regulator in another state and while regulatory work was interesting, I wanted to bang my head against the wall. Often. If that floats your boat, go for it. If you think you are going to work for State wildlife or DEQ and do fantastic research where you'll be engaged with saving the world -- just don't. You'll spend most of your time fighting with the feds. Personally if you wanted to go down the state employment route, I think a masters is overkill. Federal work is different and I do think a masters would make a difference at the federal level.

If you are thinking of pursuing the environmental track I would give A LOT OF THOUGHT NOW as to what area you want to focus before you go down the road. Wildlife Biologists often get involved in the environmental departments for the Forest Service and military installations writing NEPA reports, bird studies, impact assessments are where I think you would fit on a long-term career path realistically speaking. You would have a better chance IMHO with federal government job in terms of opportunities and pay. Honestly look at job postings on usajobs to get a realistic idea of jobs available.

Maybe there are biology professors at Ole Miss with environmental backgrounds who could provide better information. I didn't study biology so can't say. However, my broad stroke guess is that that schools in coastal areas would have better research opportunities. LSU comes to mind as do most schools in Florida in terms wildlife/environmental/ecology path. Or maybe not, again, I have no experience directly with Ole Miss biology professor backgrounds.

Thanks everyone for the more detailed responses with regards to academics.

I would disagree that an master's is overkill these days for natural resources or environmental work. So many master's and bachelor's flood the job market each year that the competitive edge is huge, IMHO. And that's not to mention the PhDs whom graduate and cannot find jobs in academia, whom then enter the government and private job markets - although some would say that many PhDs are "over-qualified" for many entry level jobs.

I've already chosen a prof at Ole Miss and his research is focused on both forest ecology and salt marsh ecology. It's funny you mention LSU, because that is where this prof received his PhD. Ole Miss also has or at least recently had a partnership with a USDA forestry program. So, it seems that they have some departmental connections along with any professional/academic networks that the bio dept. professors have, which are usually pretty far-reaching.

mydogisyella - Just out of curiosity, where and what kind of work are you doing now? I'm always looking for advice or personal accounts of people currently doing environmental or ecology work. You can PM me if you'd like.

[NCurbanNative]

Head north on the Natchez Trace. Tennessee has plenty of hiking opps.

Originally Posted by palustris

Hi everyone,

I will most likely be attending Ole Miss in the fall for graduate school (getting a master's in biology). So, how is Ole Miss, and more importantly, how is Oxford?

How's the school's reputation itself? Things are somewhat different academic-wise when talking grad school, but enlighten me anyways.

How is the general social atmosphere of the Oxford? The nightlife? Restaurants? Music scene? General things to do, etc.?

I'm from north Florida, went to school at FSU, and have never lived outside of the Florida panhandle. Without spilling my life story, I am pretty active, like the outdoors (backpacking, hiking, running), like the fine arts and I am politically very moderate. How might I fit in at Ole Miss?

Thanks in advance.