Obama’s Re-Election Sparks Racial Riot At Ole Miss

University with disturbing history of racism struggles to change its image

After the 2012 election was called for President Barack Obama, a group of students at University of Mississippi held a protest on campus. The small crowd of angry anti-Obama students quickly grew disorderly on Wednesday morning. The university said in a statement that the 400 people who stormed the Old Miss student union shortly before midnight yelled racial slurs and profanity over Mitt Romney’s loss. Photographs posted to Twitter show students lighting Obama campaign signs on fire. “All of us are ashamed of the few students who have negatively affected the reputations of each of us and of our university,” said Dan Jones, the university’s chancellor. There were no injuries or damage to property, but police reportedly had to pepper spray a group of students who ignored order to disperse. Two people were arrested, one for public intoxication and one for noncompliance with police orders. The university’s William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation organized a march across campus to condemn the students’ behavior. In September, the university marked the 50th anniversary of the riots that occurred after its racial desegregation. (Washington Post)

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