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Announcement :: Civil & Human Rights : Education : Protest Activity |
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TAKE ACTION! - UI Board of Trustees Meeting |
Current rating: 0 |
by Jen Tayabji
Email: tayabji (nospam) shout.net (verified)
Phone: (217) 352-8721
Address: 610 E. Springfield Ave., Champaign |
06 Sep 2005
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UI Board of Trustees Meeting
Thursday, September 8th
9am
Pine Lounge, UIUC Student Union |
On Thursday, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees (BOT) will be meeting at UIUC. This is the first meeting on the Urbana-Champaign campus since August 4th, 2005, when the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Executive Committee met and approved a proposal to restrict the use of American Indian mascots, like University of Illinois' "Chief Illiniwek," at NCAA colleges and universities. The NCAA banned schools from displaying "hostile and abusive" racial/ethnic/national origin mascots, nicknames or imagery at NCAA championships starting February 1st, 2006.
For more information about the NCAA's decision, please visit
http://www.prairienet.org/prc/anti.html/Archive/ncaaaug05.html
The U of I's BOT meeting in Champaign is important because the Public Comment Session component of their meeting is one of the few ways we can voice our concerns to the BOT, the only group with the power to eliminate "Chief Illiniwek." Also, the BOT will be voting on a new resolution regarding the "Chief." Unfortunately, this resolution will only add an eighth "guideline" to their process on addressing the issue. The resolution,like other resolutions passed by the Board recently, lacks any real substance in making progress on the "Chief" controversy.
You can download the resolution at
http://www.uillinois.edu/trustees/agenda/September%208,%202005/008b%20sep%20%Resolution%20Add%20Guideline.pdf
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TAKE ACTION!
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1. Join us in attending the BOT meeting and stand in solidarity with the anti-"Chief" supporters. The meeting is Thursday beginning at 9am. It will be held in Pine Lounge, on the 1st floor of the UIUC Student Union.
2. Email or call the BOT. Let them know that it’s not just the NCAA who thinks the mascot is "hostile and abusive." Call on them for substantive dialogue and action! You can contact the Board through the BOT Secretary, Michele Thompson, at mthompsn (at) uiuc.edu, (217) 333-1920, or by mail at 352 Henry Administration Building, 506 S. Wright St., Urbana, IL 61801. Please cc prc (at) prairienet.org on your emails to the Board.
3. Attend the PRC Intro Meeting on Wednesday, September 14th to find out how you can get involved in the anti-"Chief" movement. The meeting will begin at 7:30pm at the Illinois Disciples Foundation (NW Corner of Springfield and Wright in Champaign). There will be free refreshments!
For more information, call the PRC at (217) 352-8721 or send an email to prc (at) prairienet.org. Visit our website at www.prairienet.org/prc.
In solidarity,
The PRC |
See also:
http://www.prairienet.org/prc
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Copyright by the author. All rights reserved. |
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Re: TAKE ACTION! - UI Board of Trustees Meeting |
by Ed Mandel
frozenthought (nospam) hotmail.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
07 Sep 2005
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I will be one of the 6 people speaking for 5 minutes tomorrow morning. I believe I was selected because I have a new perspective on an issue. We shall find out tomorrow afternoon whether my words have any lasting impact. --- ED |
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Re: TAKE ACTION! - UI Board of Trustees Meeting |
by Bobby
bobby (nospam) nowhere.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
07 Sep 2005
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Good luck to all of you who are able to show up to this meeting. Its good to have people put this type of pressure on the BOT.
However, the likelihood that the BOT will actually take account "anti-chief" sentiment is low. The BOT is the problem here. They will continue to delay at any costs in order to maintain their sense of control of this American Indian symbol. It’s this sense of colonial power that links this issue to other issues that plague US foreign and domestic policy. There IS a connection between the attitude of “liberating Iraq” with that of “honoring” American Indians. Both assume that those in power have the unique ability to protect and nurture better than indigenous populations. This missionary view attempts to veil issues regarding the control of material conditions, resources and autonomy. |
