OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - Voting has been extended as students at the University of Mississippi choose between a bear and a landshark as a sidelines mascot.
The election was originally Tuesday only. Student government president Dion Kevin III says online voting continues until Friday.
The nickname for athletic teams remains the Rebels, but Ole Miss retired Colonel Reb from the sidelines in 2003. Critics saw the bearded old man as reminiscent of a plantation owner.
Students chose the bear in a 2010 election. The landshark comes from a celebratory hand signal that Ole Miss athletes started using in 2008.
The university has ditched other Old South symbols. The marching band no longer plays “Dixie.” In 1997, administrators banned sticks in the football stadium, which largely stopped people from waving Confederate battle flags.
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