September 20, 2005

 

Recap of the September U of I Board Meeting

The University of Illinois' Board of Trustees met Thursday September 8th on the UIUC campus. During the Public Comment Session of their meeting, all five speakers called for the immediate elimination of the racist "Chief"! Among the speakers were two members of the PRC, Jen Tayabji and Bess Van Asselt, who spoke about "Chief Illiniwek" and the hostile and abusive environment it creates on campus, amongst other issues. Dr. Wanda Pillow, the director of the UIUC Native American House, also spoke regarding the issue of the mascot and U of I's inability to actively retain and recruit faculty and students. During the speeches, anti-"Chief" supporters held signs with various slogans, including "Guideline #9: Remove the 'Chief' in it’s entirety NOW."

Later during the meeting, the BOT approved a resolution to add an eighth guideline for the consensus regarding "Chief Illiniwek." This resolution hopes to appease the NCAA by "prioritizing" the athletic teams. But in reality, it does nothing to address the NCAA's ruling nor does it move the campus any closer to resolving the controversy. It is, yet again, another stalling tactic.

While there has been much discussion recently over the origins of the term "Fighting Illini," the Board chose to ignore the strong connection of the term "Illini" to American Indians. Chairman Eppley, in his letter published in USA Today, wrote, "Our focus also has been on the Chief Illiniwek tradition, not on 'Illini' or 'Fighting Illini.' Coined by our student newspaper 52 years before the Chief Illiniwek tradition was established, 'Illini' is merely a moniker derived from our state's name. 'Fighting Illini' dates to 1921 and the campaign to build Memorial Stadium in honor of students and alumni who fought and died in World War I."

Eppley's letter exemplifies the Board's newest switch in rhetoric. Although the term "Illini" was first used to refer to the university's newspaper, it was quickly used in context with "Indians," "Illini tribesmen," "braves," "warriors" and other terms that connected U of I's athletics to a fascination with American Indians. This connection was well established before the campaign to build Memorial Stadium and by the time "Chief Illiniwek" was created in 1926 (source: The Illio). Unfortunately for Chairman Eppley, the issue of the use of the term "Fighting Illini" can’t be separated from the use of the mascot. The only resolution to the "Chief" controversy is to eliminate all references to "Chief Illiniwek," including the name, dance, and logo.

The PRC calls on the Board to stop stalling with its meaningless resolutions. Take a lead from the North Central Association and the NCAA by taking action and doing what is best for the University.

ELIMINATE THE "CHIEF"—THE NAME, DANCE, AND LOGO—TODAY!

9/8/05 U of I Board Resolution (pdf file)

7/05 U of I I lliniwek Guideline Resolution (pdf file)