From today's Letter to the Editor section of the Oxford Eagle....
UM rejects hockey donation because of firearms business connection, but has no problem with casino funds?
Letter to the Editor: Because of my love for Ole Miss, I had a fellow Ole Miss alumni refer the Ole Miss hockey team to me because he knew that the team was having trouble meeting their 2011 budget needs. I made a donation that more than filled the hockey team’s budget gap, which would allow the team to make it through their 2011 season without any financial worries, but the university rejected my donation because the donation was made from a business that sells firearms. While the same administration refuses my donations, the University of Mississippi actively solicits and sells advertisements to casinos, which are prominently displayed at many sporting events.
Although the university refuses to accept firearms as an important part of Mississippi’s cultural and economic life, the fact remains that a firearms related business will soon be the second largest employer in the state of Mississippi, once Winchester finishes construction of their operation in Oxford.
As a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law (2007), School of Business (2003), Lifetime Member of the Ole Miss Alumni Association and UMAA Foundation Member, I do everything that I can to help support local and Ole Miss causes when I am approached with them; however, the university refuses to accept my generosity time after time.
My donation to the hockey team crossed the desks of both Dan Jones and Larry Ridgeway before being rejected. I am personally calling on both men to make a financial donation to the hockey team to fill the gap left by their refusal to accept my donation.
Sincerely, Nathan A. Yow