4th Generation Mississippian wrote:

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Third Witch wrote: For the newcomers, particularly yankees and the like, "tacky" is a serious concept to Southerners. It connotes a level of unfeeling, deliberate, selfish silliness which is impossible to describe with any other word.

4th Generation Mississipian wrote: Son, you need to brush up on your Southern vocabulary. For starters, I recommend that you stroll over to the library (if USM still believes in libraries) and find a Lewis Grizzard book. That'll help you learn what Southern grace and culture is all about.

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Tacky:

http://onlinedictionary.datasegment.com/word/tacky

qwerty wrote:

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What's to love about the University of Mississippi? It has no reputation, save for that of deep and abiding racism. When my wife was a private school teacher at a girls school, Ole Miss was where they sent the girls who were dumber than doorposts.

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My original point was that USM has to manufacture tradition. Ole Miss has to manage it. It makes sense to me. USM has been a university for a hair more than 40 years. UM has been around since they were beating the drums for the Mexican War.

But since you asked... How about UM's Phi Beta Kappa chapter? UM's average ACT score for incoming freshmen is 3 points higher than USM's. (If the girls your wife sent to Ole Miss were "dumber than doorposts," I hesitate to think what the ones who went to USM must've been like!)

UM has produced more Rhodes Scholars than any other university in the country. And their USN&WR ranking is a bit higher than USM's.

Last time I checked UM was fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools ... has been since SACS started accrediting universities. Can USM say that?

Need more? OK. Let's leave the University of Mississippi & visit Ole Miss. How about tailgating in The Grove before ballgames? How about a location that is consistently ranked among the top college towns in America? (What does Hattiesburg have that's comparable to "The Square?" Turtle Creek Mall?) How about a campus that's considered one of the most attractive in the Southeast & frequently mentioned in the same breath with the University of Virginia? How about that top 5 "party school" ranking? That counts for students. And importantly, more Miss Americas have come from Ole Miss than from any other place!

One other thing, UM has a president named Robert Khayat. USM has a president named Shelby Thames. 'Nuff said!

Since you mentioned racism, I'll point out that UM's historic use of the Confederate battle flag & the team name "Rebels" has no racial significance. At the outset of the War of Northern Aggression, a unit of UM students (the University Greys) enlisted & were almost entirely extirpated by war's end. The Confederate imagery traditionally associated with the University of Mississippi was originally intended to honor those kids who died a long way from home fighting to defend what many serious Americans at that time thought was the correct interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. (And for the habitual conservatives here, I might note that Jefferson Davis considered himself a "strict interpretationist" who was being true to the "intent of the Founding Fathers.") As the descendant of a Confederate soldier myself -- he did not live long enough to qualify as a veteran -- I find the knee-jerk association of the CBF with the Klan, Lynyrd Skynyrd & outlaw bikers to be patently offensive.

And on the "history of racism" front, I do suggest you check out the name "Clyde Kennard" some time. USM'ers love to bash UM on the "Meredith issue," but it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Trivia Time: James Meredith is frequently cited as the first black man to attend the University of Mississippi. This is not exactly true. At least two other black men attended classes at UM during the two decades preceding Meredith's enrollment. Can you name them?

Invictus wrote:

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 UM has produced more Rhodes Scholars than any other university in the country.

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This is an overstatement worthy of Lisa Mader!

Harvard has the most for any university with 315.

UVA has the most of any public university with 45.

 

 

Thanks for the correction, Colonel. I picked up a line from a Google search & I believe it was referring to a peer group analysis (public, similar size student body). Mea culpa.

How many Rhodes Scholars has USM produced?

Folks, remember, I am a USM alumnus. I have three degrees from USM. And I strongly believe that at one point, approximately 25 years ago, USM was positioned to give UM a real run for its money in terms of quality. But a combination of IHL interference & IHL interference (culminating in the appointment of the current chief executive at USM) put USM "back in its place."

Invictus wrote:

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I strongly believe that at one point, approximately 25 years ago, USM was positioned to give UM a real run for its money in terms of quality.

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That missed opportunity occurred in the mid- to late- '80's. Things went downhill thereafter and finally crashed.