An Unwelcome Environment
Apparently things are worse than I thought at the University of North Dakota. Sally Page, UND’s affirmative action officer, has stated in a memo to campus administrators that publicly opposing the UND “nickname and Indian-head logo” could create an “unwelcome” climate for students who support the “nickname.” I think that Sally Page is forgetting about all of the UND students, staff, and faculty members who are made unwelcome on a DAILY basis by the presence and implied university support of UND’s racist imagery.
AP story via Diverse Issues in Higher Education…
The University of North Dakota’s affirmative action officer, Sally Page, said in a memo that campus departments and programs that oppose the school’s Fighting Sioux nickname and logo might create an “unwelcome” environment for nickname-supporting students.
UND’s nickname and Indian-head logo have been a divisive issue on campus for years. Page’s memo references a newspaper advertisement that lists 27 UND programs, departments and governing bodies that have stated their opposition to the nickname and logo. Some representatives say departmental silence on the nickname issue could be read as a tacit endorsement of the university’s support of the name and logo.
“Both positions have the same chilling effect, just on different people,” says Sebastian Braun, a professor in UND’s Department of Indian Studies. “(Page’s position) allows the university to publicly support its stance but would not allow parts of the university to publicly oppose that stance.” –Associated Press
Here is an excerpt from the letter that was written by Sally Page and printed in the Grand Forks Herald:
“From: Sally Page, Affirmative Action Officer
Re: Ad in Grand Forks Herald September 22, 2007
I assume that most of you saw the ad on page 2A of Saturday’s Herald listing UND programs, departments, and other UND groups supporting the name change and the logo. The problem, and it’s not new, is that UND departments and programs have and are taking race as one of their underlying values. The effect at a department and program level is those individuals, and more importantly American Indian students, who do not have a position on the Sioux name or logo or who may support the name and logo may experience a “chilling effect” in those departments and educational programs or in services provided in those programs.”
WOW. Holy batshit batman! Sally Page is the AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OFFICER for the University of North Dakota. I nearly fell off my chair when she said that “the problem…is that UND departments and programs have and are taking race as one of their underlying values.” Race is a foundational element of any and all affirmative action departments!
Related posts:
Affirmative Action = Ignoring Race/Ethnicity?
I am soooo confused.
And wow, this makes me value the support programs at OSU even more.
Not only that, but there’s something at the end of the AP story….
Obviously, making sure racist students are comfortable ranks at least as high as getting rid of a racist logo/mascot, and definitely higher than creating a safe environment for Native students.
Also, Miller’s last comment seems to suggest – rightly, I think – that Sally Page is suggesting that there is no place in the university to consider views that are different from one’s own. After all, it’s just a university, not a place of higher learning.
I’m also disgusted by the underlying suggestions here that Equality = Sameness, Tolerance = A Right To Be Comfortable At All Times, and The Status Quo is Never Racist.
Dennis
6 Oct 07 at 10:38 pm
Obviously, making sure racist students are comfortable ranks at least as high as getting rid of a racist logo/mascot, and definitely higher than creating a safe environment for Native students.
exactly. and seeing as the *majority* of students are NOT native and/or don’t support the logo, it’s really frightening to think that *this* is how they’re protecting opinions–those with very little *institutional* power, those without the protection of numbers, are told to please make life more comfortable for the hostile crowds that surround them??? I thought that college was about expanding your comfort zone and learning things you’ve never considered before?
brownfemipower
7 Oct 07 at 5:49 am
Hi,
I’ve been following this issue off and on for a while but never very much in depth. As I read through these things, I’m always curious. What would it take to get the mascot changed?
I also wondered if you had heard anything about the results of the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators conference last month? They were meeting to diiscuss low Native American high school graduation rates and what steps they could take to help Native American students graduate. I did write briefly about it on my blog site, but you may have to scroll back through the pages to find it.
Dakota Lifestyle: Beyond the Weather
8 Oct 07 at 7:00 am
[...] The NCAA and the University of North Dakota have come to an agreement regarding the racist Fighting Sioux logo. Instead of banning UND for division I athletics until they remove the racist logo, the NCAA has decided to collaborate with UND. In an unbelievably awful move, the NCAA has given (gotta love it when non-Native American institutions give each other power over Native Americans…ugh!) UND three years to get the Sioux tribes to change their minds about the racist logo/mascot/symbol. WTF! [...]
UND and NCAA’s racist collaboration » Eric Stoller’s blog
2 Dec 07 at 8:06 pm
hey we should all be color blind, and accepting of all… a fighing sioux to a blind man is just as intimidating;/cool/good/bad as fighting irish, right? what if your sports team was the pansies? how hard would that be? I think when we prejudge in the name of affirmative action we lose sight of the bigger picture…. color blindness….
big daddy
20 Apr 08 at 10:44 pm
Why can’t “we” (code for white people) both see and love color? The “bigger picture” is a world in which color is seen, appreciated, and loved.
Eric Stoller
21 Apr 08 at 6:47 pm