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Chief Illiniwek & Indian Mascots: News and Events
Sep. 7: 8th Guideline for "Consensus"
The Board of Trustees is set to take up the following resolution at their
Thursday meeting this week.
RESOLUTION TO ADD EIGHTH GUIDELINE FOR CONSENSUS PROCESS
REGARDING CHIEF ILLINIWEK
Whereas, the Board of Trustees has established a process by which it will
seek a consensus conclusion to the matter of Chief Illiniwek;
Whereas, at its meeting on June 17, 2004, the Board of Trustees adopted
the "consensus resolution" and said it would "consider and approve guidelines pursuant
to which a consensus conclusion will be based," and on July 14, 2005, the Board of
Trustees after much consideration and review adopted a set of seven guiding principles to
frame a solution in the best long-term interests of the University;
Whereas, three weeks later, on August 5, 2005, the National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA) issued a policy regarding use of Native American imagery
that was directed to 18 member institutions, including the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign;
Whereas, portions of the NCAA policy take effect on February 1, 2006;
Whereas, the board believes the guidelines it adopted to aid the consensus
process would be strengthened by the addition of the following eighth guideline:
8. Recognize the University's goals of having high integrity
athletic programs, winning teams and athletes who are
successful students and who have the opportunity to
compete at the highest levels.
Now Therefore Be It Resolved that the Board of Trustees hereby adopts this
eighth guideline for use with the existing seven guidelines as a framework for reaching a
consensus conclusion regarding Chief Illiniwek.
Aug. 20: Chairman Eppley interviewed
Board chairman Lawrence Eppley was interviewed on WDWS radio on Saturday morning,
August 20. Among his key comments:
- He noted the 1995 Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights finding, saying
the data suggested there was not a hostile environment at Illinois - but
acknowledged that Native students on campus felt obligated to "weigh in" on the chief
- There will be a meeting this week including BOT chair Eppley, Chancellor Herman,
and Athletic Director Guenther and possibly university counsel regarding opportunities
for appeal [of the NCAA decision]
- Discussed efforts to resolve the chief controversy, and discussed the
chief versus the name Fighting Illini;
- Regarding loss of funding at schools where their mascots were retired, Chairman Eppley
noted that there was an "initial hit - then it comes back."
More on this in the next update of RetireTheChief.org.
Aug. 18: Board of Trustees call NCAA action
"giant step backward"
The University of Illinois Board of Trustees (BOT) lashed out at the recent NCAA ruling,
criticizing the "inflammatory rhetoric" in the decision
(Sun-Times).
BOT chairman Lawrence Eppley, in a letter to USA Today, said
"The Executive Committee's uninformed use of inflammatory rhetoric
... retards meaningful debate." In a response, Wally Renfro,
senior advisor to NCAA President Myles Brand,
said "this is an effort that took place over an extended period of time. This
is a debate that has gone on in the NCAA for four years...
this is not about an effort to be politically correct. It is about doing the right thing.
It is time to bring such practices to an end."
(News-Gazette, Aug. 16).
RetireTheChief comment: the BOT was quoted earlier this summer
as stating the lack of action by the NCAA indicated the difficulty
of dealing with the issue.
(News-Gazette)
U.I. professor Stephen Kaufman said "If the Illinois trustees do not have the courage to
retire Fighting Illini and their fake chief, they should at least welcome the
NCAA's initiative and willingness to take the heat on this." (NG)
Eppley (Aug. 16) expressed concern over a loss of common ground as a result
of the NCAA decision and subsequent discussion. He also stated there was
a "significant disconnection" between the chief and the name Fighting Illini,
the latter referring to UI students and alumni who fought in World War I, he said.
Board votes to keep "Illini"
The University of Illinois Board of Trustees, in their
July meeting, adopted a resolution to retain the names Illini
and Fighting Illini in their search for a "consensus conclusion"
on the issue. The resolution
may be found here.
May 2005:
Debate rages over
UIUC response to NCAA Self Examination
The University of Illinois recently responded to the NCAA call
for an Institutional Self Evaluation on the issue of Native
American Mascots. The UIUC response has provoked more response:
- U.I. Native American House:
UIUC response "in essence no response at all, an insult to our campus,
an affront to Native peoples, and a blatant disregard for the intent of the initial request
which prompted the NCAA to require UIUC to conduct a "self evaluation."
In short, UIUC's response to the NCAA's request is unacceptable and disingenuous
in every way."
NAH statement, May 2005
- U.I. professor Stephen Kaufman:
"a shamful whitewash and one-sided distortion. The report
is replete with errors of omission ... it excluded all constituencies from the self-evaluation
process. [UIUC] violated the Freedom of Information Act in denying inquiries regarding
its response to the NCAA."
News-Gazette commentary, May 15, 2005
- Chicago Sun-Times:
UIUC "largely dodged questions on whether the school believes the chief
is disrespectful -- or not -- to Native Americans."
Earlier news stories are
archived here.
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