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MISSISSIPPIAN
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Volume 103, No. 124
T H E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I S S I S S I P P I S E R V I N G O L E M I S S A N D OX F O R D S I N C E 1 9 1 1
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Students bring die-in from campus to Oxford Square LANA FERGUSON
lnfergus@go.olemiss.edu
Antajh Boggan, sophomore political science major, chants “black lives matter” at a die-in at the foot of the Confederate Statue on the Square.
PHOTO BY: LOGAN KIRKLAND
Walking away
Nearly two dozen students sprawled beneath the Confederate war memorial in front of the Oxford Courthouse to bring awareness to the importance of black lives Wednesday afternoon. The protesters shouted “black lives matter” in response to recent police violence against blacks. “Are you next? Am I next? Are we next?” the protesters asked. A similar protest with the same purpose was held two weeks ago in front of the Student Union. “I participated in the last one and there wasn’t a lot of black participation in it. I thought that was a problem,” said senior Jalisa Giles, who helped organize the event. Giles collaborated with sophomore Allen Coon to prepare the protest, and the two decided to move the demonstration off campus and into the Oxford community. Coon and Giles chose the Confederate war me-
SEE DIE-IN PAGE 3
The Ole Miss campus needs a new basketball arena and space for big events. But the loss of the Tad Smith Coliseum will rob a community of walkers of the place they have enjoyed for nearly 50 years.
S
he grabs the handles of the walker and follows her father onto the concourse of the Tad Smith Coliseum. It doesn’t take long for her to tire. Soon she’s resting on the seat of her walker and watching people pass. Sometimes she waves. Sometimes she sits still. But she never speaks. Paige Wilkerson, 21, has a condition known as Angelman Syndrome. The rare affliction causes ambulatory issues, cognitive disabilities, seizures and
By Clara Turnage
communication issues. Some of the few affected become almost completely immobile. “Fortunately, Paige has been ambulatory most of her life but it’s getting more difficult for her,” said her father, Woody Wilkerson, who walks every day with Paige at the coliseum. “The best thing for her is just to get as much exercise as possible – that’s why we started walking there.” The Tad Smith Coliseum welcomes dozens of walkers such as Paige. Around 5 p.m. you can see
them; some walk quickly, headphones in and music loud. Others amble, speaking more than they walk. Some come on a daily basis; others only visit when the weather does not permit outdoor exercise. Doors have been open to walkers since the Tad Smith Coliseum opened nearly 50 years ago. But construction of a new arena – one that lacks an uninterrupted concourse – threatens this small community. The Pavilion, the new Ole Miss basketball arena, is set to open in
January of 2016. Although there is no set date to close the Tad Smith Coliseum, many of the walkers don’t know where they will go after it is demolished. Some will switch to outdoor walking tracks, such as Avent Park, the Whirlpool Trails, FNC Park or Pat Lamar Park. For Paige, however, there are many reasons this isn’t possible. “Paige needs room,” Wilkerson said. “When she gets in that walker, you don’t know exactly where she’s going – she’s just going. She needs a wide track.”
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Feldmeier breaks school records
The flat surface of the Tad Pad stabilizes her walker; the handicapped parking spots allow her and her father to easily access the building. Faculty, staff, student and community walkers have their own reasons to go each day. “I kind of forget everything; it’s a stress relief mechanism when I go,” said Daisy Cheng, a senior catalog librarian and associate professor who has been walking for eight years. “For
SEE WALKING PAGE 4