Academic

On Tuesday, on a marathon drive from Georgia back home to New Mexico, I stopped off in Oxford, Mississippi to visit William Faulkner?s home. I first fell in love with Faulkner?s novels in high school and was eager to see the ?postage stamp of native soil? that inspired his work.. Yet the Oxford of today is nothing like Yoknapatawpha County. The Courthouse Square is chocked full of clothing boutiques, as well as a truly fine restaurant and book store. If the Snopes family still lives in the area, they must own one of the numerous Escalades parked along the square.

I had to circle Old Taylor Road three times before I found the entrance to Rowan Oak, Faulkner?s mansion. Subtly marked, with a small parking lot in the forest, the site seems designed more to maintain the old man?s privacy than to cater to visitors. Inside, I was struck by how ordinary was this site of extraordinary creativity. Pablo Neruda?s homes in Chile ? full of bric-a-brac, outdoor mosaics, and maps of the world ? scream ?Prometheus lives here.? Rowan Oak just whispers of a writer focused on his craft who fancies himself a country gentleman.

Change has come to Ole Miss too. The University has dropped its old Colonel Reb mascot and searched for a replacement Rebel image without strong links to the Confederacy, slavery, and segregation. It?s a pity that the University rejected the candidate presented by a group of students ? Admiral Ackbar from the Return of the Jedi. That was a touch of wackiness or whimsy not often associated with Ole Miss. The University instead invented "Rebel Black Bear" to honor Faulkner's short story, "The Bear."  As much as I love Faulkner, this choice smells of compromise.  Don?t give up Ole Miss students! Fight for an underground mascot.  Here are a few ideas:

Chewbacca: a more appealing Star Wars Rebel, but not known for his tonsorial or sartorial qualities. May be difficult to envision in gentility of the Grove.

Falcons:as in Millennium.

Ché: adding a little viewpoint diversity.

Billy Idol or James Dean: perhaps too Hollywood for Northern Mississippi

Spartacus: ?Do you like movies about gladiators, Timmy??

Vercingetorix: perhaps too French; less than victorious.

Bonnie Prince Charlie: also not a poster child for victory.

Marianne: also too French. Definitely triumphant but somewhat under-dressed