The Republican presidential candidate John McCain and the democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
The Republican presidential candidate John McCain and the democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The new 'Ole Miss' hosts debate full of symbolism



OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI // Curtis Wilkie's final year as a journalism student at the University of Mississippi began in the autumn of 1962 in a way he wished it had not: with a military presence on the normally quiet campus. US marshals had come to enforce a federal court order to enrol a young man named James Meredith, who had been denied admission to the segregated school because he was black. A violent riot broke out when students heard Mr Meredith had arrived. Army troops were called in. The National Guard was called up. By the time things turned quiet, two people were dead. Forty-six years later, on Friday, the university - where Mr Wilkie is now a journalism professor - welcomed to campus on wholly different terms another historic black figure: Barack Obama. If someone had told him then it would be just two generations until the first black major-party presidential candidate would set foot here, as Mr Obama did for his debate with John McCain, Mr Wilkie simply would not have believed it. "I would have said, 'you're crazy'," Mr Wilkie, 68, said last week. "He would have been impossible 20 years ago," he said of Mr Obama. "He would have been unimaginable 50 years ago." Mr Obama's candidacy may be historic for the country, and indicative of the progress made in America since the civil rights movement. But the fact that the University of Mississippi, the oldest university in the poorest US state, was chosen to host the first debate was equally symbolic. "If you put 1962 against 2008 and you consider the incident that occurred here in 1962, the irony is almost beyond description," Robert C Khayat, chancellor of the 17,000-student university, said. The school in this conservative southern city, whose central square displays a statue honouring Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War, goes by the nickname "Ole Miss", a term of respect slaves used when referring to their master's wife. But in many ways, when it comes to racial issues, it has become a new Ole Miss, and students, faculty and residents have been trying to show how. "Obviously, there's great symbolism," said John Meredith, James Meredith's son, of Ole Miss hosting Mr McCain and Mr Obama. "I don't think anywhere in the country there is an institution that has made more significant strides than the University of Mississippi." It is not that race has gone away as an issue here; it has not. Ole Miss students still feel the weight of what happened in 1962, and that is the point. Almost everyone knows you can still see bullet marks on the façade of the Lyceum, a brick building that is the campus's oldest, from the night of the riot. There is a bronze statue of Mr Meredith nearby, including a plaque that notes the October day he "stepped into the pages of history". There is still a great deal of racial separation, as is the case in many corners of America. Walk into the student union cafeteria and it is obvious: by and large, white students eat with their white friends, and black students eat with their black friends. "It's de facto segregation," said Josh Davis, 31, a 1999 graduate of Ole Miss who grew up in Oxford and is raising his own family here. Still, there is something happening at Ole Miss that once never would or could have: people are talking constructively about race. Mr Davis, who is black, has helped spur that. He organised an event last year that brought together 80 students of different races, ethnicities and religions in small teams for dialogue on race relations, along with a scavenger hunt. That led to a three-day retreat in February called One Mississippi, also to tackle the issue of social segregation on campus. "The world is much bigger than this comfort zone they have," said Mr Davis, assistant director of alumni affairs for the university, who suggested that black students and white students at Ole Miss experience the university in very different ways. Nickolaus Luckett, 19, said he is thankful for what Mr Meredith did to pave the way for black students like himself. "We're at a different point now in history," he said. "Now we're moving into socially integrating the university." History looms large, even all these years later. Mr Meredith, who lives in Jackson, Mississippi, applied to Ole Miss in January 1961; four days later, he was denied admission. With the help of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, he took his case to court. He won the legal challenge but faced a much more difficult one when he arrived on campus. It took a few hundred federal marshals, 20,000 army troops and the full weight of the Mississippi National Guard to restore order. When Mr Meredith finally sat down for his first university class, everyone else in the room got up and left, his wife, Judy Meredith, said. "Understand, he was not here to be friends with anybody," Mrs Meredith explained. "He was here on a mission. He called himself a soldier. He was not hurt. He was not afraid. He does not feel he's a hero. He just feels as if this was something he had to do." Mr Wilkie, the journalism professor, has watched the school's complexion change, slowly, from that day when Mr Meredith made Ole Miss the first southern school to accept blacks. He wishes he did more to somehow support his classmate in 1962. "I should have, but I didn't," he said. Mr Wilkie, who is supporting Mr Obama in the presidential race this year, described the Illinois senator's arrival on campus for the debate with one word: gratifying. "I would never have dreamed we'd come as far as we have," he said. eniedowski@thenational.ae

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Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

Emirates Red Crescent

On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.

Gulf for Good

Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.

Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

Get Out

Director: Jordan Peele

Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford

Four stars

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Best Foreign Language Film nominees

Capernaum (Lebanon)

Cold War (Poland)

Never Look Away (Germany)

Roma (Mexico)

Shoplifters (Japan)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sanju

Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani

Rating: 3.5 stars

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

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THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

if you go

The flights

Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return. 

The trek

Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required. 

Leap of Faith

Michael J Mazarr

Public Affairs

Dh67
 

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ASHES FIXTURES

1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27 
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.