text: Chancellor, the Slave, and the Student - Oxford Scholarship
  The Chancellor, the Slave, and the Student
  (p.146) 5 The Chancellor, the Slave, and the Student
  DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199964239.003.0006
  In 1858, a University of Mississippi student assaulted one of the slaves owned by F.A. P. Barnard, the university's chancellor. Barnard then expelled the student. But the student complained that Barnard had violated one of the key rules of the slave system: he took testimony of a slave against a white person. Barnard sought vindication from the Ole Miss trustees. He asked them to hold a trial on the student's allegation. This chapter tells the story of that trial, which ultimately supported Barnard. This highlights the vulnerable status of enslaved women on college campuses. Earlier, when Barnard taught at the University of Alabama, it was rumored that one of his slaves had been prostituted to students.
  Keywords: University of Mississippi, University of Alabama, slave testimony, trial of university president, assault on slaves, university students, violence on college campus, sexual assault