I'm not a part of this group, or even completely sure what all they stand for, but I understand the need for anonymity. As a state employee I wouldn't dare attach my name to it. This state is controlled by a handful of "good ole boys" and crossing one of them is the same as crossing all of them. My career would be OVER.
Here's what will happen: Boone will "move" to another position at the university - his replacement will be from within and not really any different - fans will forget about this for a few more years - and it will come back up again after a couple of mediocre athletic years appease the hostiles temporarily.
Who is going to voluntarily give up cushy jobs that pay way more than they should just because a few hicks get their undies in a wad about a stupid game? These same people have held the whole state down for decades, this is a small speed bump.
right, everyone wants to compete at the top level but what happens when your not even competing at all? change. and who's "fault" is it when an entire university is split? what does it say that pete boone himself is a member? if it is that bad of an idea to join a group calling for change, then what does that say for him? to me that is like saying "we all want to win championships, so we are all on the same page and there should be no change." polarization from administration is the problem.
Yeah, I want to win national championships too. And so does Jones; and so does Boone; and so does Nutt. I guess that's one of my problems with the group. I don't fully understand what they stand for, unless the sole purpose is to get Pete Boone fired (which it may very well be). I am very hesitant to support a group with a "Let's win" platform because there's undoubtedly another agenda. And I'm very careful about attaching my name to something that may come back to bite me. For instance, does Forward Rebels circulate these proposed ads to its members before having them published? I doubt it. These members who "just want to win championships" are letting these ads speak for them. I just don't know enough about them to be willing to put my name on the ad that will run next Monday.
I agree with everything both you guys have said. I'm not a member of the Forward Rebels campaign, but I do agree with some of their views. My thought is that they want to be brought into the public spotlight from Jones by placing the ads. What better way to gain recognition than being challenged to a debate.
i did join the group when it first came out. i still for the most part support their stance. i think there are thousands that have "joined" the group. i am not an active member, i simply signed up online to support this aspect of the FW group....They state that they are tired of settling for being ok and want to win national championships. i totally agree with this. ole miss has a wonderful campus and many selling points. i think that boone has done a good job in some ways but there seems to a 10 yr time frame when people grow tired and want change. me included
I understand your point about the anonymity, although I think it is hard to come down one way or the other on this. My problem with the anonymity is that we can't see how many people support this cause. For all I know the group consists of a single member who took the ads out himself/herself. On the other hand, the group could have thousands of members united that represent a majority of the OM alumni.
On the other hand, I see Deuce's point. Perhaps there are people who support the goals of the group but don't want their named tied to public speak out against the University.
Since Jones has engaged in the discussion, I say he should follow through. Call this group out. Have them appear and be heard by the administration. If this group has a strong following, which it may or may not, Jones would be a fool not to consider what it has to say. That said, he would also be a fool to simply act solely based of a few ads of an unknown group. This is a difficult spot for Jones but that is what true leadership is all about. For now, I hope and trust that he will make a decision, based on ALL of the information at his disposal, that will put this University in the best position for the future.
As i posted in the other location....its completely civil, they have not crossed a line into name calling on unfounded accusations that I have seen...they have a public spokesman, if I missed something let me know. If someone thinks this ad campaign is uncivil, obviously you have very thin skin and no business in a high profile position.
One might say that having such a large anonymous group is what makes it uncivil. I completely disagree for the reasons stated above along with the fact vengeance would probably rain down swiftly on anyone remotely associated with the university and publicly supported this group. Parrish your duel analogy applied in the 18th century, but todays is a society with very little honor. Sometimes discretion has to be employed to get results.
To me, at least, they appear to be pursuing their "loose" agenda in a very reasonable way.
To be clear, I am not a member of this group, as I have stated before all of my former donations that were earmarked for Ole Miss now go to St.Jude, but the fact that people accuse them of being "uncivil" when they are using their time, money, and effort to bring about much needed change irks me.
JJ, I think the civility thing comes in just because of the anonymity. I don't think the discussion is uncivil. Probably, a civil approach was tried first, and this is the approach the group is trying now.
I agree JJReb. I see nothing wrong with this. It is my understanding that many of these individuals tried to talk behind closed doors, but were not successful. Whatever happened really doesn't matter. The fact is, when you operate a multimillion dollar buisness, as college sports has become, you are not just an employee of the state. You have to answer to many more people and you have to make many more people happy. Also, you cannot expect to ask for millions of donation dollars and not expect that money to come without a price. You can't take a 25,000 dollar check and then say thank you, now go over there, shut up and let me run this. It doesn't work that way.
PA, I read your piece, and I'm interested to know why you think the Forward Rebels' campaign is uncivil. I will say that I do not necessarily support the group, primarily because I don't really know what it stands for - saying you stand for OM excellence, etc. is a little generic; I would hope we all stand for that (even Jones and Boone).
I'm curious as to what Jones, or you, would say is a civil way to have this debate. If this group wasn't spending money to place ads, who would listen to their viewpoint? Just because they have an opinion that is different that that of the administration doesn't mean that their vocalization of that opinion is uncivil. While I would normally advise a chancellor to steer clear from acknowledging these sorts of actions, Jones has already failed to do that. Now what? Perhaps he should invite the group to a public meeting to discuss its concerns. Then you get to see the faces of this anonymous group and how much support the group has.
I don't support them but I can't condemn them either. We pay Boone's salary, not Jones. So my rambling boils down to this: Why can't a group of unhappy fans/taxpayers/employers take out an ad to voice their displeasure? If exercising their first amendment rights through the newspaper is uncivil, what is?
PS - There's been talk about a "black-out Boone" showing this Saturday, I will not be participating in that. I am an Ole Miss Rebel, and I will wear red to support my school and the players that represent it. During the game, I feel like that is our obligation to our players. They get to see our appreciation 7 (or 12 if you go to away games) times a year for the hard work and time they dedicate to our university. I encourage everyone not to make that time about Boone, Nutt, or Jones.
news
Here's what will happen: Boone will "move" to another position at the university - his replacement will be from within and not really any different - fans will forget about this for a few more years - and it will come back up again after a couple of mediocre athletic years appease the hostiles temporarily.
Who is going to voluntarily give up cushy jobs that pay way more than they should just because a few hicks get their undies in a wad about a stupid game? These same people have held the whole state down for decades, this is a small speed bump.
I agree with everything both you guys have said. I'm not a member of the Forward Rebels campaign, but I do agree with some of their views. My thought is that they want to be brought into the public spotlight from Jones by placing the ads. What better way to gain recognition than being challenged to a debate.
On the other hand, I see Deuce's point. Perhaps there are people who support the goals of the group but don't want their named tied to public speak out against the University.
Since Jones has engaged in the discussion, I say he should follow through. Call this group out. Have them appear and be heard by the administration. If this group has a strong following, which it may or may not, Jones would be a fool not to consider what it has to say. That said, he would also be a fool to simply act solely based of a few ads of an unknown group. This is a difficult spot for Jones but that is what true leadership is all about. For now, I hope and trust that he will make a decision, based on ALL of the information at his disposal, that will put this University in the best position for the future.
One might say that having such a large anonymous group is what makes it uncivil. I completely disagree for the reasons stated above along with the fact vengeance would probably rain down swiftly on anyone remotely associated with the university and publicly supported this group. Parrish your duel analogy applied in the 18th century, but todays is a society with very little honor. Sometimes discretion has to be employed to get results.
To me, at least, they appear to be pursuing their "loose" agenda in a very reasonable way.
To be clear, I am not a member of this group, as I have stated before all of my former donations that were earmarked for Ole Miss now go to St.Jude, but the fact that people accuse them of being "uncivil" when they are using their time, money, and effort to bring about much needed change irks me.
I'm curious as to what Jones, or you, would say is a civil way to have this debate. If this group wasn't spending money to place ads, who would listen to their viewpoint? Just because they have an opinion that is different that that of the administration doesn't mean that their vocalization of that opinion is uncivil. While I would normally advise a chancellor to steer clear from acknowledging these sorts of actions, Jones has already failed to do that. Now what? Perhaps he should invite the group to a public meeting to discuss its concerns. Then you get to see the faces of this anonymous group and how much support the group has.
I don't support them but I can't condemn them either. We pay Boone's salary, not Jones. So my rambling boils down to this: Why can't a group of unhappy fans/taxpayers/employers take out an ad to voice their displeasure? If exercising their first amendment rights through the newspaper is uncivil, what is?
PS - There's been talk about a "black-out Boone" showing this Saturday, I will not be participating in that. I am an Ole Miss Rebel, and I will wear red to support my school and the players that represent it. During the game, I feel like that is our obligation to our players. They get to see our appreciation 7 (or 12 if you go to away games) times a year for the hard work and time they dedicate to our university. I encourage everyone not to make that time about Boone, Nutt, or Jones.