Gamma Phi Beta University of North Dakota Punished for Showing School Pride

[pinksequins]

Yes, Mystic Cat! Or self selection of the name Tar Heels, a designation that once was viewed as a pejorative term. : )

Unsurprisingly, you and KDCat distinguished the fact patterns and there is a meaningful difference. Thank you.

[pinksequins]

And I think the Frackers has a lot of potential!

[amIblue?]

Did I read the article correctly that the school hasn't chosen a new mascot? I'm not questioning the decision to remove the Sioux as the schools mascot, but I don't understand why the banner that I saw merits sensitivity training. They used to have a mascot. It was deemed offensive and removed. If I read that correctly, they are now mascot-less. I don't see how mentioning that the mascot is gone, but they're still proud of their team is lacking in sensitivity. It did happen.

I don't disagree with the decision to remove the mascot, or any similar cultural appropriation. I just don't understand why this particular banner was so bad. What am I missing?

[IndianaSigKap]

There is a Christian school near me whose mascot is Warriors, but they don't use it in the Native American sense. Theirs is the biblical sense, I think they may use a gladiator type helmet as their visual logo...not sure on that one.

[shirley1929]

Answered my own question about FSU and the Seminoles:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/sp...anted=all&_r=0

Also mentions the Fighting Sioux of UND and quotes a Seminole who is a lifelong Miami Hurricane fan :

'Affection for the Seminoles is not absolute. Several houses feature University of Miami mailboxes and banners. Joe Cypress, who called himself an "original Seminole," lives on the reservation with his Miccosukee wife and said he had been a Hurricanes fan all his life.

"It don't bother me," he said of the Seminoles nickname and of his neighbors who support Florida State. "We coexist."'

[Low D Flat]

It does make some sense to me not to introduce the new mascot for a while. You're automatically going to hate the new thing if it lands on a fresh wound, so to speak. No one accepts a substitute when they're still grieving for the thing they loved. Who knows if the wait will make any difference, but the theory makes sense.

Sanctioning the sorority for this banner, though...it's BS. I don't know what they were thinking.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by Low D Flat

It does make some sense to me not to introduce the new mascot for a while. You're automatically going to hate the new thing if it lands on a fresh wound, so to speak. No one accepts a substitute when they're still grieving for the thing they loved. Who knows if the wait will make any difference, but the theory makes sense.

Sanctioning the sorority for this banner, though...it's BS. I don't know what they were thinking.

It would make me more angry about a change if I had to cheer for the N/As. IMO, no mascot is worse than a new one, and the change seems to have popular support, given the vote of 67% that MC cited.

[LXA SE285]

Not really apropos of anything in this thread, but Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama, calls its athletic teams the Poets. I've always gotten a kick out of that.

[AGDee]

My alma mater went through this right after I graduated in the late 80s. Eastern Michigan is located in the Huron Valley, along the Huron River on Huron Valley Drive. Guess what the mascot was? Yes, Hurons. The schools board of directors voted to eliminate the name Hurons (although Central Michigan are still, to this day, Chippewas). The Chief of the Huron tribe attended their board meeting and asked them to reconsider but they said no.

In the meantime, they added this EMU costumed mascot that walked around at football games. Everyone figured they'd make us the Emus. Why not? Same initials, right? The EMU Emus. No, they made us Eagles.

It shouldn't be a big deal to change mascots, but the fight song changes, the alma mater song changes and you don't know the words or the chants at games anymore. It doesn't feel like it is "your" school anymore.

[Sciencewoman]

I personally think this situation could have been avoided if they'd picked a new mascot right away. Have a naming contest like other schools have done, and move on. Instead of initiating a 3 year "cooling off" period, when current students could be mad they don't have a mascot to cheer on for the duration of their college years, turn it into a positive situation with an educational awareness campaign, followed by a positive, fun, spirited campaign to select and roll out a new mascot. The situation with the Washington Redskins also irks me...you know they will eventually cave and change that obviously offensive name. The sooner the better...just get it done and move on!

I read the Gamma Phi Beta press release last week, and the Sorority's anti-discrimination policy was firmly reinforced in the release. No excuses were made.

True fact: I used to live on a street called Sioux Drive. Good thing I moved!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

The situation with the Washington Redskins also irks me...you know they will eventually cave and change that obviously offensive name. The sooner the better...just get it done and move on!

Not arguing about the offensiveness of the Washington Redskins name or whether it should be changed, but the history of that particular team name (and its historical counterpart, the Atlanta Braves) really does play into much bigger themes about how majority American culture has used American Indians and "Indianness" as a way of defining "Americanness," starting with the Boston Tea Party.

And I'll have lime, Dr. Phil. Thank you very much!

[MaryPoppins]

Ole Miss also chose a several year long cooling off period for changing mascots. I don't think it helped, but I'm sure some heavy consulting power was hired in to help make the decision and the plan for carrying it out.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by MaryPoppins

Ole Miss also chose a several year long cooling off period for changing mascots. I don't think it helped, but I'm sure some heavy consulting power was hired in to help make the decision and the plan for carrying it out.

There is a difference in that the cooling off period for Ole Miss was the change from “Colonel Reb” as a mascot to “Rebel, the Black Bear” as a mascot. The “Rebel” nickname (i.e. Ole Miss Rebels) remained during the cooling off period and never changed. With North Dakota, during their current cooling off period, they do not have a mascot or a nickname.

[DubaiSis]

My high school was/is the Wahawks, a made up thing. Waterloo, Blackhawks, Hawkeyes, it all ties together. The mascot was removed from an Indian chief type image and the dancing Indians (which especially have nothing to do with the power/royalty of a chief) were painted over. Oddly, I don't think a replacement image was ever given. We're still the Wahawks, but I don't think there is a bird image that replaced the human image. But this was done a LONG time ago, in 1980 or so. I guess we were forerunners on the subject. More controversial or humorous was that our school colors were old rose (pink) and black. It usually was represented as red and black because pink is pretty expensive, being a custom color, but the true faithful would only represent their school pride in old rose and black.

[shirley1929]

Someone brought up Redskins, and it reminds me of an article I read several years ago about the Donna (TX) Redskins. A small town in the south TX valley. This isn't the article, but it's much of the same:

http://www.expressnews.com/sports/hi...4988085.php#/0

DONNA — The Donna Redskins take the field at Bennie La Prade Stadium, known locally as “The Reservation,” by running through a canvas banner that resembles a teepee.

Cheerleaders wear moccasins and are dressed like Indian princesses. One, the Indian Sweetheart, wears an elaborate headdress. During the game, drummers pound out an incessant beat, accompanied by war chants and “tomahawk chops” from the fans."

(more)

"In Donna, the entire school district is wholly invested in the Native American motif.

Donna North, a high school that opened this fall, is called the Chiefs.

Mascots for the school district's middle schools are Braves, Seminoles, Warriors and Cherokees.

Superintendent Roberto F. Loredo said the school district is Donna's largest employer. As a result, many Donna residents identify themselves as “Redskins.”'

The Indian Sweetheart is Donna High School's oldest tradition, dating back 79 years. The role essentially is that of head cheerleader.

As Indian Sweetheart, Valdez wears a headdress custom-made for her by a Navajo Indian in New Mexico.

Valdez also wears a hand-beaded overlay of her own design that was made by a local seamstress. Each color and symbol represents something meaningful to her.

“It's known to be the highest honor Donna has,” Valdez said. “The Indian Sweetheart is the face of Donna for a year. Little girls look up to her as a role model.”