Accepting Acceptance

The disturbances at the University of Mississippi following the most recent presidential election struck a chord in Ole Miss IMC major, William Fowler. 

The protest against the re-election of President Obama grew into a crowd of about 400 people who shouted racial slurs as rumors of a riot spread on social media, according to cbsnews.com. 

However, the night after the election, Ole Miss held a walk of unity where the students stood together to counter the previous night of protest. William Fowler was one of those students. 

The state of Mississippi and the southern region in general is already infamous for its history involving slavery, racism and ignorance. The disturbances after Barrack Obama’s re-election amplified the southern stigma of racism and ignorance, which inspired Fowler to do something.

“As the executive assistant to Gregory Alston’s Associated Student Body executive cabinet, what motivates me as a leader is to improve the lives of my fellow constituents while here at the University of Mississippi,” he said. “I plan on doing that by focusing on initiatives that create a more all inclusive environment—a more accepting and open environment.”

Fowler served as a student tent host at the Southern Studies tent in the grove. The mission of the tent was to create a space within the grove that was accepting of all multicultural backgrounds and identities.

He also spearheaded the University of Mississippi participation in the reading of Martin Luther King Junior’s Letter from Birmingham Jail: a worldwide celebration. At the event, the readers and speakers discussed the importance of acceptance and equality. They discussed that while this nation was built on equality, equality will not be a reality until everyone truly believes it because, as King says, “an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

In regards to the future, the Associated Student Body (ASB) is planning a week dedicated to bringing awareness to the University of Mississippi creed, which will be held in the Fall. 

“I have so much respect and admiration for William,” said  20-year-old Ole Miss public policy major, Page Meredith. “He’s doing amazing things and he’s so dedicated to making everyone feel like they belong.”

“William is a leader because he works to promote and encourage others by not just setting an example but leading them to do the same,” said Meredith. "William does not prove his leadership by the means of wins and losses, but rather by the people he has reached out to and encouraged to act with civility and kindness."

Fowler has always believed in acceptance of others, equality and mutual respect between different people, according to Meredith. 

“He’s one of the most genuine guys I know. He really goes against the grain and is a great example of someone who doesn’t fit the Southern stereotype,” said Victoria Barrera, a 21-year-old political science major at the University of Mississippi.