This is a cross post from my normal range over on Say Anything Blog. Goon was nice enough to let me post here to get more UND fans to see.
Back on August 16th the Editor of the Grand Forks Herald (our local bird cage liner) had a column about the Fighting Sioux Name. In it he had a couple valid points and a couple real wacko positions.
Due to my delay in covering this column it is no longer available to view for free on the Herald web site. (I love it when Socialist cheerleaders go for a profit) But I did save a screen shot. You can see following excerpt over on Say Anything.
Supporters of the Nickname might feel aggrieved by the board's decision to shorten the timeframe for the resolution by a whole year. This may have doomed the Hail Mary Pass.
Essentially, they can say the board changed the rules when it appeaed that they might win the game.
UND's effort to introduce new regalia hasn't been greeted warmly either. A new logo with interlocking letter N and D didn't win rave reviews.
So, nobody's happy.
Our view here remain the same. The nickname is divisive. Late efforts to save it only make the divisions deeper.
At one point, it appeared that the issue might be used to open dialogue among North Dakotans. But the state's leaders refused to become engaged, and that opportunity passed.
I have to love how Jacobs can claim that the name is divisive. It's not. It's the single most worn symbol of the community. It's something you can wear around town with pride. It's something you can wear when you're traveling and strike up conversations with people either from here or play against our teams. In my case when I'm on vacation you always meet some Big Ten Alumni who's working in a restaurant. (True!)
And as popular as the name is among UND Alumni and people that have lived in the community, it's just as popular on the reservation. I'd wager that the recent vote by the Spirit Lake Tribe in favor of the name did more to increase mutual respect across the reservation's border than anything that's been done in the last 20 years.
What is divisive is the small group of elitists like Mike Jacobs and the UND leadership that don't care what the tradition is. They don't care how it brings together the people of Grand Forks and helps build pride on the reservation. No it's this small group of elitists that are being divisive by trying to change the status quo. They don't care what the community here and on the reservation think, they only care what their peers among other elitists at other colleges and media groups think.
It's not part of the clip that I produced her, but Jacobs said that opponents of the Sioux name and logo were disappointed that the the tribe repudiated their efforts to erase the Sioux name from the community. How condescending. I guess the Sioux name opponents are bummed out that they can't call supporters racists anymore so they're disappointed.
Getting to the crux of the deal Jacobs is right when he says the Board of Higher Education changed the rules on us. However he's dead wrong on the reasoning. Jacobs said that we were told by the Summit League that they wouldn't consider our application until the issue is resolved.
If Mike Jacobs would bother reading his crappy newspaper he'd be aware that the Summit league said no such thing.
This has been a long-standing issue between UND and the NCAA and it is hopeful that the two parties will work together to finalize this matter. It has not been, nor should it be, a Summit League issue to address or intervene in a solution that both UND and the NCAA agree upon.
If Mike Jacobs had a leg to stand on he wouldn't have to resort to telling made up stories. The elitists want the name to go away. Up until the Spirit Lake tribe voted overwhelmingly to support the name they were happy to have the NCAA and the Indians take the blame. But that vote changed things. They had to hurry up the process before the citizens of the Standing Rock tribe forced a vote. So they shortened the time frame by a year and raised the bar far higher than our NCAA settlement by requiring a 30 year deal.
I can't begin to express my disdain for the Board of Higher Education. Back around the year 2000, the Board of Higher Education that we had expressed support 100% for the Sioux name and the community. Now the current board, appointed by John Hoeven, has turned on the UND and Sioux community.
Jacobs alludes to the states leaders had an opportunity to involve themselves in the process, but didn't. At the time of the egregious settlement with the NCAA the Attorney General said that he and Governor Hoeven would take the lead to negotiate with the tribes. They did no such thing. They also stabbed the UND and Sioux community in the back.
Cross posted by Whitler at sayanythingblog.com
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