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Kelly Mori writes about health and higher education.Home > Blogs > On Campus > Archives > 2010 > March > 15
Monday, March 15, 2010
Ole Miss considers ‘Star Wars’ rebel for mascot
University of Mississippi students are turning to a galaxy far, far away for their new on-field mascot.
The Ole Miss Rebels’ former mascot, Colonel Reb, was abandoned in 2003 because some people saw the antebellum figure as a caricature of a plantation owner.
Students are now campaigning to make Admiral Ackbar, the alien commander of the rebel alliance in “Star Wars,” the school’s new mascot, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The push for Ackbar “kind of started as a joke,” said Matthew Henry, one of the students who came up with the idea, to the Chronicle. “We’re not fully expecting Admiral Ackbar to be our on-field mascot.”
Ackbar fever has gripped the campus, according to the Chronicle. Henry and his friends created a popular Facebook page and Twitter account for the squid-like character, along with the Web site notatrap.org. The site name is a reference to Akbar’s most famous line in “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi:” “It’s a trap!” The site features a photo of Ackbar wearing Ole Miss colors and a logo for the “Ole Miss Rebel Alliance.”
The school’s student body voted in February to develop a new mascot, and this month a student committee is to be named to propose one. Henry said he talked to one student who plans to gather signatures in support of Admiral Ackbar, the Chronicle reported.
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