Ole Miss student Sam Fowlkes wants to change the school's mascot. Currently, the Rebels are represented on the sideline by 'Rebel Black Bear,' which became the official mascot in 2010 -- seven years after Colonel Reb was removed from the sidelines of games. He wants it to be 'Landsharks.'
Fowlkes started a Change.Org petition to make Landsharks the official mascot of the university, in reference to the nickname that the Ole Miss defense has adopted. Fowlkes explained his proposal on the petition.
Everywhere you look on gameday in Oxford, the story is all about the Landshark. Whether it is in the defense making plays, the hype video, the flag waving, or even the fan cams, the landshark is an embodiment of the team and the University. This petition is a preliminary attempt to gather interest from the student body and alumni on potentially associating the Landshark with the University of Mississippi. The only apparent association with Ole Miss and the Black Bear is the mascot on the field; however, this petition and further actions are not an attempt to undo the past or any work done on the previous mascots. The Landshark has a distinct relationship to the students, faculty, and alumni, and I am trying to determine if there is enough support for me to pursue future actions. With your help, I can present the ASB senate with a tangible petition showing support, where we can then determine future actions on changing of the mascot.”
It's certainly an interesting proposal -- and one that has a good deal of thought behind it. It will be interesting to see if it reaches its goal of 5,000 signatures and can get actual consideration from the school. As of Thursday morning at 11:15 a.m. ET, the petition has 3,616 supporters.
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