JACKSON, Miss. - The University of Mississippi has stopped flying the state flag on its Oxford campus because the banner contains the Confederate battle emblem that some see as a painful reminder of slavery and segregation.

Interim Chancellor Morris Stocks ordered the flag lowered Monday morning.

The action came days after the student senate and other groups adopted a student-led resolution calling for removal of the banner from campus.

Since 1894, the Mississippi flag has had the Confederate battle emblem in the upper left corner - a blue X with 13 white stars, over a field of red. Residents chose to keep the flag during a 2001 statewide vote.

The public display of Confederate symbols has been widely debated since the June massacre of nine black worshippers at a church in South Carolina.