Text from the memorial archway:
Today we place a marker on that road. It is a marker that tells us not only where we have been, but where we need to be going.
-Former Gov. William Winter
Open Doors Ceremony, October 1st, 2002
Last Wednesday, after hearing the news of Obama's victory, I decided to take a few photos of the James Meredith statue on the campus of Ole Miss.
I had never visited the statue before. The bronze cast of Meredith, approaching the archway reading "Opportunity" on one side, and "Courage" on the other, marks the event that forever changed the face of the University: the day that a black man was admitted as a student.
That was in 1962, only 46 years ago. It seems shockingly recent, in terms of a lifetime. It seems disturbingly close, as if it is just on the other side of a time-shut door. When you stand next to Meredith's statue, the memory of that moment is contained, and it is intensely tangible. In the same way that the War Between the States ended 143 years ago, it seems that you don't even have to stretch to reach back in time and touch something of it that still exists, or see something that reminds you of it, and the ways that war hurt everyone who was envolved.
James Meredith's walk to school 46 years ago caused a violent riot on campus. Two people were killed in the clash between protesting segregationalists and U.S. Federal troops that day. The blazing hatred of that historic day still exists, just as the fierce hope for equality keeps breathing.
The Daily Mississippian reported on Thursday, November 6, that there were a few disruptions on campus, specifically in the dorms as the election result was announced. The University Police Chief compared the incidents to celebrations for Monday night football, and though students were handcuffed, no arrests were made. The multiple incidents were said to be caused by the exchange of racial slurs between white and black students.
Everyone knows that emotions run high during elections. As the Ole Miss Police Chief also noted, disturbances were reported at other schools as well. We also know that many election parties at Universities across the nation came to an end without violence or hateful language.
No one is immune from the adrenaline, but we can learn to control our anger, when things don't go our way. According to Dr. Steven G. Pratt of Superfoods Healthstyle, anger robs us of our health.
In one study of over one thousand medical students, it was revealed that those with the highest levels of anger, expressed or concealed, were at significant risk for developing premature heart attacks versus those with lower levels of anger. A high level of anger not only serves as a potential trigger for a heart attack, but in this study it was a trigger for causing a premature heart attack. These students with excessively angry responses to stress appeared to initiate biochemical changes marking them for an early heart attack.
Pratt suggests that finding Personal Peace is the key to relieving stress. However, there's no simple prescription for finding one's personal peace. He suggests that relaxation, meditation, breathing deeply, listening to music, thinking positively and seeking fun and friendship are just a few ways to tap into your personal peace. Finally, he writes that embracing nature plays an essential role in our health and well-being.
Surely there is something in the unruffled calm of nature that overawes our little anxieties and doubts: the sight of a deep-blue sky, and the clustering stars above, seem to impart a quiet to the mind.
-Jonathan Edwards
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