:: Running from the Thought Police ::

:: Monday, October 17, 2005 ::

DI Covers The NCAA Appeal

Although Kiyoshi was lamenting the DI getting screwed out of a scoop due to the Friday announcement, our student newspaper used the time wisely to get some reactions from the NCAA. Of note is the following graf:

As for the Chief, the University contends that labeling the symbol "hostile and abusive" directly disagrees with a 1995 study by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. That report stated that the Chief Illiniwek tradition did not create a "racially hostile environment at the University."

But NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said that the decision alone was not enough to keep Illinois off the "hostile and abusive" list.

"The fact that the Office of Civil Rights came to the University and looked at a specific set of allegations in regards to the Chief isn't in itself a determination," NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said. "In 2001, the U.S. Committee on Civil Rights sent the NCAA a memorandum stating its concern with the use of all American Indian mascots."

Well, there's one point of the appeal gone. The school autonomy arguement's bull because its blatanly obvious that the BoT had no intention of actually reaching its "consensus" goal, and I don't know enough about the NCAA's bylaws to have an opinion on the last part of the appeal. Personally, if we dropped "Fighting" from the school nickname, I'd have no problems with keeping it, but then again I'm a lilly white boy. In any case, the appeal's already taken its first hit, and it's only been three days.

:: The Squire 2:19 AM :: email this post :: ::
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