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News :: Miscellaneous |
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US DEPT. OF JUSTICE OFFER TO MEDIATE MASCOT ISSUE REJECTED BY U OF I TRUSTEES |
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by NCRSM
(No verified email address) |
21 Feb 2001
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Anyone surprised by this? no....
"We believe that the neutrality of our office would allow opposing parties to come together on this issue," explained Bergeron. "The Department of Justice services are provided free, without cost." ...
The mistake here is in thinking the BOT wanted neutrality... |
FROM THE NATIONAL COALITION ON RACISM IN SPORTS AND THE MEDIA (NCRSM)
THE NCRSM IS A HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION DIRECTED BY PROMINENT NATIVE AMERICAN LEADERS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 20, 2001, Champaign, IL
US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFER TO MEDIATE MASCOT ISSUE REJECTED BY U OF I TRUSTEES
The United States Department of Justice recently revealed that the
University of Illinois refused its offer to hear and mediate the Chief
Illiniwek controversy that has been a focus of dispute on the
Urbana-Champaign campus for the past twelve years. In response to the
condemnation of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools of
the University\'s lack of institutional integrity in dealing with the
issue of its race based mascot, the University Board of Trustees reaffirmed
its support for Chief Illiniwek and simultaneously announced it would hold a
\'dialogue\' to get popular input.
It was at that time, Kenith Bergeron of the Department of Justice
Community Relations Services, Region 5, Chicago, offered their services
to the University. \"The function of our office is to help resolve issues of
race, color and national origin as mandated by the Civil Rights Act of
1964, and to help prevent the escalation of racial and ethnic tension,
incidents, or civil disorder. The Chief controversy on the Urbana campus
appeared to us to clearly fall within our jurisdiction and so we offered
our services to the University,\" said Bergeron.
\"We believe that the neutrality of our office would allow opposing
parties to come together on this issue,\" explained Bergeron. \"The Department of
Justice services are provided free, without cost.\"
The Justice Department, without cost to the University, would have
provided a process, a forum, and if need be, independent mediation,
where all relevant parties would have been heard. This offer was refused by
the University\'s Trustees, who subsequently identified and contracted with
former Judge Louis Garippo to oversee their \'dialogue\' process. It was
obvious that the University wanted to maintain tight control of this process.
\"We decided to let their dialogue run its course while continuing to
monitor the process,\" said Bergeron.
When the Garippo report came out this Fall, it was clear that it was not
thorough, accurate, or independent, but provoked further controversy. It
was at that time the Department of Justice again approached the
University and again offered its services.
\"The Board appears to have received what it bought and paid for,\" said
Cyd Crue, president, of the Illinois Chapter of the National Coalition On
Racism in Sports and the Media. \"We believe that a meaningful resolution
cannot be reached until the Board has frank discussions that include
those who advocate ending the Chief tradition. In our view, this has not yet
taken place and we remain acutely concerned about the potential for
further confrontation.\"
\"This episode is unfortunate in many ways,\" said UIUC Swanlund Professor
of History Frederick Hoxie. \"It is now plain that the Trustees were
never interested in a real dialogue. If they had been, they would have taken
the offer of the Justice Department. Rather than taking a positive step
towards the creation of a healthy discussion of how best to embrace the
value of diversity on this campus, the Board devised an extremely
expensive strategy that has neither improved the campus atmosphere nor
moved us closer to a resolution. \"
Debbie Reese, graduate student and president of the UIUC Native American
Student Organization, Red Roots, stated, \"I believe the Trustees want to
keep their fake Indian. In doing so they deny the campus the enriching
educational opportunities that can occur when Native Americans enter
into meaningful dialogue with fellow students. In light of this, I\'m not
surprised the Trustees rejected the offer from the Department of Justice.\"
Professor May Berenbaum, Swanlund Professor and Head of the Department
of Entomology, concerned by this news said, \"By turning down an offer for
independent oversight of its dialogue, the Board of Trustees seriously
compromised its status as an honest broker of intellectual exchange.
It\'s not just about the money--it\'s about credibility, and it seems that an
extraordinary opportunity was missed for reasons that were not clearly
articulated.\"
\"What an appalling waste of student and taxpayer dollars. I hope that
the Board does the right thing and retires the Chief soon. We have too much
to lose, not least of which is the impact of all this on recruiting a new
Chancellor for the Urbana campus,\" said UIUC Professor Vernon Burton,
1999 Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Year.
This was not the first time the Trustees refused independent mediation
of the Chief issue. In November, 1998, UIUC Professor Stephen Kaufman
raised this option with University President James Stukel, who brought the
proposal to the Trustees. No reason was given for the Trustees refusal
to engage in a professionally mediated independent discourse at that time.
Responding to this new revelation from the Justice Department Kaufman
said, \"To maintain control and direct the process to the outcome they
sought, the Trustees have squandered hundreds of thousands of student
and taxpayer dollars. It\'s a shame they didn\'t take this opportunity to have
a credible review of the issue. The North Central Association remains very
concerned about the mascot issue on the Urbana campus and it is not
likely that they are going to be taken in by the charade of the \'dialogue\'
staged by the Board. What this translates into with regard to the academic
accreditation of the UIUC campus remains to be determined.\"
For further information contact:
Cyd Crue, 217-355-6757
Stephen Kaufman: 217-333-3521
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