Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks, who holds the position while the Institutions for Higher Learning searches for the next Ole Miss chancellor, said the school intends to move the statue to the Confederate cemetery, near the old Tad Smith Coliseum.
The university has submitted plans to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the IHL. Once the university receives the green light, the school hopes to have the monument relocated within 90 days.
The push for the statues removal began to get increased attention last fall when a group known as the Students Against Social Injustice staged a protest and issued demands of the administration, something that is now common practice among left-wing campus organizations.
According to SASI, the university must remove the Confederate statue from campus and speech codes must be implemented to “protect students from the racist violence we experience on campus.” And, the next chancellor “must” meet with this group to discuss their demands.
Last spring, the Associated Student Body voted to relocate the statue, as did three other governing bodies.
SASI, which includes students and liberal professors, has since been putting their own markers on the statue marking the number of days since the ASB vote.
Before the SASI push to move the statue, the university placed plaques on various locations on the campus, including the statue. This was done in early 2018 as part of a years-long process. These plaques are designed to "contextualize" names or objects on campus.