Love Oxford

Elan Lloyd
Pi Beta Phi

Here we are at the beginning of another new semester. For some, it’s the last semester of our college career – a sad fact that came to my realization sometime over Christmas break, and one I’m going to blissfully ignore until sometime around May 12.

However, another thing came to mind over the ridiculously long six-week break. Like I’m sure most of you did as well, I went out with friends pretty often in places near my hometown (note: I say ‘near’ because my actual hometown is one of those “blink-and-you-miss-it” kind of towns, so we opt for more exciting destinations). One particular night we were out in Chapel Hill – a college town with a lot of similarities to Oxford – and I caught myself measuring the two towns against each other.

 It was when I was trying to compare the two that I realized: you can’t really compare Oxford to anything; you can simply compare things to Oxford. Our little Mississippi town is so wonderfully unique, that there are places you can go that will remind you of Oxford, but Oxford remains distinctive and exceptional in its own right. So in light of this realization, I’ve decided to compile a list of things that make Oxford, well, Oxford.

1) Five Star Dining… in a town of 15,000 people. Yes, there are plenty of other places – even college towns – that have really great, highly rated restaurants. However, let’s be honest: Oxford is a total of 10 square miles (about 1/18the size of New Orleans). And in that limited space, we not only have places like City Grocery that are well-known throughout the South, but there isn’t a single chain restaurant on the Square. It doesn’t hurt that we’re also the center for the Southern Foodways Alliance.

2) The Grove – This should probably go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: when people think of Oxford, one of the first things they think about is The Grove. As Sports Illustrated so eloquently put it, Ole Miss students and Rebel fans alike get to spend Saturday afternoons in the fall in “a school of red and white and blue tents swimming in a shaded 10-acre forest of oak trees, floating in an ocean of good will and even better manners.” Consistently ranked as one of, if not THE, best tailgating spot in the entire nation; and anyone who’s been there can agree: nothing can quite compare.

3) Music, Literature and Arts – Oxford is most known in this department for being home to well-known author William Faulkner. However, poets, novelists and writers from around the world converge upon our little town, specifically the famous Square Books, just to visit one of the literary epicenters of the world. Hundreds of musicians and artists also come through each spring during the Double Decker Arts Festival. Not only is local artistic and musical talent showcased, but nationally recognized acts such as Old Crow Medicine Show and the Carolina Chocolate Drops also come through during the festival. What makes this even more wonderful is the fact that, once again, this happens in a town that their land area is 10 square miles.

4) The Old South – From the architecture to the residents, from the landscape to the feel of the town itself, Oxford is the perfect representation of the idealized version of Southern life and culture. It takes all of the good and none of the bad things about the South, and brings it together in Faulkner’s “own little postage stamp of native soil.” As my good friend Connell  Knight persuasively put it: “Oxford has a hypnotic, slow-talkin’, home quality that can turn even Yankees into gents and belles.”

5) It’s Not Starkville – But really… the best thing about Oxford is it isn’t anything or anywhere else. If you took this town and put it anywhere else in the world, it wouldn’t be the same. It’s perfection is in its location, its history, and the fact that we don’t ring cowbells at our football games.

So while there are many places that have similarities in culture or style as this wonderful town, nothing compares and nothing is quite the same as Oxford… and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Élan is a senior studying English and journalism. You may contact her at elan@odyssey-south.com.