THE CHIEF LIVES ON

Here we go again with another group of individuals with too much time on their hands suggesting that the University of Illinois find a replacement for the abandoned and much beloved Chief Illiniwek mascot. It was only three years ago that a group of disgruntled agitators moved the weak-kneed Illinois politicians, school administrators, and the NCAA to declare The Chief a divisive figure.

It was irrelevant that polls in the local Champaign newspaper, the Chicago papers, and the Illinois Alumni Association proved overwhelmingly that The Chief should continue to represent the University. A few liberal, but loud voices scared the politicians claiming The Chief was negative to Native Americans.

Anyone who knows anything about The Chief and everything he represented knows the mascot was honorable and always showed nothing but the greatest respect to Native Americans, so that argument is totally bogus. However, politicians and the school administration, after spending over 5 million dollars on polling and research, finally decided to bow to a misled NCAA edict forced down their throats by its late president, Myles Brand.

Now both the Illinois Faculty Senate and the Illinois Student Senate have called for the creation of a new Mascot. I guess referring to school teams as the “Block I’s” and having an “I” dance around just won’t work.

This is foolish and a total waste of time and precious public dollars that could be far better spent providing educational benefits for needy Illinois children. The argument against The Chief is totally bogus, because everything about Illinois’ Chief Illiniwek was and is honorable. The link below will provide additional information, if you are interested:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2890082,CST-NWS-chief13.article

If Chief Illiniwek is evil, then I, a person who is one-half Irish, am very disturbed when they call Notre Dame “the Fighting Irish” and the mascot is portrayed by a half-crazed leprechaun. Fair is fair, but in this case fairness has nothing to do with the situation because it is what we now call political correctness. What that represents is a waste of public dollars by a group of misguided whackos.

LONG LIVE THE CHIEF!

COMMANDR GRANGER