[NYTr] Univ of Illinois' Racist "Mascot" Is Back: Latest Developments Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2007 15:44:45 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Francis Boyle - Oct 28, 2007 [I certainly agree that under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, UI President White, Chancellor Herman, the Board of Trustees and almost everyone around here have the "right" to be Klanners. But that does not make any of them RIGHT. The University of Illinois has always been the Ku Klux Klan dressed up in Caps and Gowns instead of Hoods and Sheets. -Francis A. Boyle, Professor of Law ] The New York Times - Oct 28, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/education/28mascot.html University Reverses Policy to Allow Mascotbs Return By SUSAN SAULNY CHICAGO, Oct. 27 b Chief Illiniwek has not yet left the campus. Months after the University of Illinois decided to retire the mascot officially, banning him from university activities, the image of Chief Illiniwek, a buckskin-clad American Indian, was allowed to return to an event during homecoming celebrations this weekend on the Urbana-Champaign campus. His likeness appeared on the side of a couple of floats, face-forward, fully framed in feathers. In the name of free speech and in a reversal of policy, Chancellor Richard Herman lifted a prohibition on the use of the Chief Illiniwek logo on homecoming parade floats just a day before the parade rolled on Friday night. bThe university values free speech and free expression,b the university said in a statement, band considers homecoming floats, decorations, costumes and related signage all representations of such personal expression. Therefore, Chancellor Herman has directed the Homecoming Committee to strike the existing policy from the homecoming float guidelines.b A few thousand spectators showed up on campus for the parade, and about half of them were sporting some sort of Chief Illiniwek paraphernalia somewhere on their bodies. There were no protesters. As an official mascot, Chief Illiniwek performed for the last time in February. He was retired under pressure from the National Collegiate Athletic Association and amid heated debate at the university, though the universitybs sports teams retained the nickname Illini. A symbol of university and geographic pride to many, Chief Illiniwek came across to others as a racial stereotype from another time. He was 81 years old. The chiefbs main function was to dance for a few minutes at halftime during basketball and football games, but he had a devoted following, to say the least, and even his own society, called Honor the Chief. The societybs Web site says it was founded to help the public brecognize the difference between an athletic mascot and a time-honored symbol of tradition and respect.b But, in one sense, he was a relic. The push to erase American Indian nicknames from college campuses began in the 1960bs in Indian communities and at universities. At the time, there were thousands of athletic programs with such nicknames. But by 2000, the use of Indian mascots and names had disappeared from all but a handful of major universities. In 1991, the University of Illinoisbs own student government association found Chief Illiniwek to be discriminatory and called for the mascotbs elimination. In 2005, the N.C.A.A. announced a policy that prohibited athletic programs using so-called abusive imagery from being the hosts for postseason games and banned the use of Indian nicknames. The policy also banned the use of such images by coaches, players, cheerleaders, band members and others. But even after Chief Illiniwek was banished, he never really went away. bItbs still everywhere, on clothing and merchandise, people have it and itbs still around,b said Yael Dvorin, a senior from Des Plaines, Ill. bItbs not taken away. After years of having that material, chief paraphernalia is everywhere. It is still very visible in that sense.b Charlene Teters, the vice president of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media and a member of the Spokane Nation, began the movement to eliminate Chief Illiniwek at Illinois in the late 1980s. Ms. Teters did not return calls for comment, but on her Web site, she noted that bthe effort to remove Chief Illiniwek was never about the mascot, it was and remains to be about racism.b The N.C.A.A.bs executive committee rejected an appeal last year by the University of Illinois to continue using its Chief Illiniwek athletic mascot. On Friday, a spokeswoman said that N.C.A.A. policy only covered athletic events, so the use of the chiefbs image at a parade was an internal university issue. But the spokeswoman, Dana Thomas, said the University of Illinois would be invited to participate in N.C.A.A. championships only if it did so without American Indian references on its uniforms and associated athletic program activities. Still, the decision to allow the chiefbs image on floats left some students questioning the administration. bFree speech b in this context Ibm not sure I agree because the homecoming parade is through the university,b said Scott Schwartz, a senior molecular and cellular biology major. bA lot of bending of rules.b The chief is still such a hot point of contention that the universitybs student newspaper, The Daily Illini, would not discuss the homecoming issue and does not plan to publish an editorial position on the rule reversal. Students who were interviewed mostly said they could see both sides of the issue, but remain faithful to the chief. bTo me it is a very honorable and loyal symbol,b said Haley Beenenga, a senior from Bloomington, Ill. bI love the chief and I wish it was still here, but I also understand how it can be offensive. Now I want to know, is he around or not around? Whatbs the decision? Clearly itbs hard to get rid of something thatbs been around so long.b Robin Kaler, the universitybs associate chancellor for public affairs, said the nature of the event, a public parade, overrode concerns about the universitybs sponsorship. bWe wouldnbt ban a member of the campus community from wearing chief paraphernalia to class or work,b she said. bWebre not going to ban them from doing that in the parade either.b Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company *** UIUC Edu news - Oct 25, 2007 https://quoll.law.uiuc.edu/news/email/2007/10/25/parade_policy_overturned UI's homecoming parade policy on Chief overturned By Christine Des Garennes Fans of Chief Illiniwek can show their support for the retired symbol at the University of Illinois homecoming parade after all. A new university policy that initially prohibited the use of Chief Illiniwek images on parade floats has been overturned. Chancellor Richard Herman, who did not sign off on the original policy, was notified about the policy earlier this week, reviewed it and determined the policy was "overly broad," said university spokeswoman Robin Kaler. After hearing about the original ban, students and community members who support the now-retired university symbol, were in an uproar. "We decided this was a blatant trampling of First Amendment rights," said UI student Paul Schmitt, president of the student organization Students for Chief Illiniwek. He and other club members learned about the policy earlier this week and decided to register for the parade. Students consulted with an attorney and law professor and eventually notified administrators they planned to walk in the parade and show support for Chief Illiniwek. This week when Chancellor Herman reviewed the policy, initially drafted by administrators who oversee the parade, he discussed the issue with university legal counsel and UI President B. Joseph White and decided to change the policy, Kaler said. The university values free speech and free expression, she said. "If you're a participant on a float, you're representing a personal point of view. The analogy is you frequently see university employees wearing Chief apparel to work or deciding to decorate their offices with Chief items. Those are people expressing this point of view," Kaler said. Schmitt said he and other pro-Chief students were pleased with the news and they plan to treat Friday's parade as a victory march. About 20 students are expected to participate in Friday's parade and hand out candy. "We're happy to march and we're happy the community was able to stick up for us on this. We are students. We have our rights as anyone does," he said. He called the original policy a "slap in the face to people in the community to say you can't support your symbol." After more than a decade of debate, Board of Trustees Chair Lawrence Eppley announced the end to Chief Illiniwek last February. A month later, the board of trustees voted to formally eliminate the Chief as the symbol of the university. At that meeting, trustees directed Herman to take care of the remaining issues surrounding Chief Illiniwek, including what happens at halftime and what will become of the trademark and the regalia. The parade is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Friday at Sixth Street and Lorado Taft Drive in Champaign. It will conclude about 7 p.m. at Mathews Avenue and Nevada Street in Urbana. A pep rally on the Quad will follow the parade. *** Previous article: reprise Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Francis A. Boyle - Aug 26, 2007 [Imagine that on game days everything remains exactly the same except that the Rabbi itself has since been "retired" from "performing." -fab] A slightly different version of this piece was published by Counterpunch on Mar 20, 2005 and distributed by NY Transfer here: The Racist Mascot: Why You Should Boo Illinois. Apr 2, 2005 http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/Week-of-Mon-20050328/015117.html The Racist Mascot from Urbana-Champaign: Why You Should Still Boo Illinois By FRANCIS BOYLE The self-styled "Fighting Illini" of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are on their way to the NCAA Tournament with their racist and genocidal mascot and symbol Chief Illiniwak still in tow. Although the NCAA just forced the University of Illiniwaks to prevent this Little Red Sambo from desecrating at half-times everything American Indians hold dear and treasure, nevertheless Chief Illiniwak still remains the officially designated "honored symbol" of the University of Illiniwaks at Urbana-Champaign. In his "Year 501: The Conquest Continues" (1993) Noam Chomsky suggests an apt metaphor for such American Indian sports mascots and symbols that I will elaborate upon here in order to conform to our local and most peculiar rites on this campus: Suppose the Nazis had won the Second World War. Sixty years later, a prestigious German state university has a mascot for all of its sports teams and sports fans by the name of "The Rabbi." Basically what happens is that a student from the Hitler Youth League dresses up in an authentic costume for an Hasidic Rabbi, complete with the curl-locks and beard. The University itself collectively call themselves "The Fighting Jews", and the school's band is called "The Marching Jews." The student newspaper is called "The Daily Jew." All the sports fans in town wear jackets and t-shirts with pictures of The Rabbi prominently displayed on them. And most cars have Rabbi stickers planted all over them. Two years ago the University's Board of Trustees ran out of town on a rail a courageous and principled Chancellor who had the temerity to publicly suggest that the time had now come to "retire" the Rabbi. So of course there was a heated campaign on among the students and alumni to "Save the Rabbi!" This German state university plays its soccer matches over at the Nuremberg Stadium in front of an audience of about 75,000 White Aryans , almost all of whom are wearing pro-Rabbi images and clothes. At half-time the Marching Jews take to the stadium floor and begin playing what they purport to be Jewish sounding music along the lines of Fiddler-on-the-Roof. Then all 75,000 White Aryans rise as one and shout in unison: "Rabbi, Rabbi, Rabbi, Rabbi" gesticulating wildly and working themselves up into a feeding frenzy. One lone faculty member sits there in protest shouting "Racist Rabbi!" and everyone in the vicinity proceeds to throw garbage at him. Finally, the moment these ardent White Aryans have all waited for has arrived. The Rabbi runs out onto the arena floor from among the Marching Jews, proceeds to the center of the Nuremberg Stadium, and dances the Hava Nagila while the Marching Jews play on and march into an intricately choreographed maneuver that they all brag about and take special pride in that culminates with the band being organized into a swastika. So the Rabbi continues to dance the Hava Nagila while the Marching Jews form themselves into a swastika. By now all 75,000 White Aryans are hysterical, shouting, screaming and yelling: "Rabbi, Rabbi, Rabbi." This semi-religious spectacle that the Nazis are well known for staging, especially at the Nuremberg stadium, goes on for a good twenty minutes. It all concludes with everyone joining hands to sing "Deutschland, Deutschland Uber Alles," with the Rabbi leading all 75,000 White Aryans in the song. Then the Rabbi proceeds to dance the Hava Nagila out of the stadium followed by the Marching Jews. Everyone goes wild, clapping and cheering. This Rabbi ceremony brings tears to the eyes of many drunken alumni and students who had started several hours beforehand getting inebriated on schnapps and good German beer at pre-game tailgate parties. When it is all over, a visiting law professor from another country asks his host at the soccer match what this spectacle was all about. Without missing a beat the former Dean Mengele of the Law School turns to his guest and says:"We are honoring the Jews." Whom the Nazis had just exterminated 60 years ago, so of course the memory of the Jews needs to be honored by this spectacle at every home soccer match , basketball game, and volley ball game. The Illiniwek Indians were ethnically cleansed out of Illinois about a century before that. These are the real "Little Eichmans." Be sure to "boo!" and root against the Illiniwaks. Historically, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, its Boards of Trustees, its Presidents, its Chancellors, its Provosts, its Deans, Directors and Department Heads, and most of its Faculty and Alumni/ae have always been the Ku Klux Klan dressed up in Caps and Gowns instead of Hoods and Sheets. [Francis A. Boyle is Professor of Law at the University of Illinois.] * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================