University Senate votes to oppose bills

[ShilohSioux]

http://www.grandfork...icle/id/192728/

UND University Senate votes to oppose bills seeking to save Sioux nickname

UND's University Senate has adopted a resolution opposing all three Fighting Sioux nickname bills under consideration at the North Dakota Legislature

By: Chuck Haga, Grand Forks Herald

UND's University Senate has adopted a resolution opposing all three Fighting Sioux nickname bills under consideration at the North Dakota Legislature.

The vote Thursday was overwhelming, with only a few members voting against or abstaining, said Curtis Stofferahn, professor of sociology and vice president of the University Senate.

An exact vote count was not immediately available.

The University Senate includes faculty, staff, student and administration representatives. Its vote against the nickname bills follows a similar action Jan. 23 by the UND Student Senate.

The University Senate resolution used language from the Student Senate resolution, noting that the university has begun the transition away from the nickname and logo, the bills would "only reignite the division over the 'Fighting Sioux' nickname and logo and further divide our university, the city of Grand Forks and the state of North Dakota."

Also, according to the resolution, there would be "unknown" costs to a potential new legal battle with the NCAA.

The University Senate resolution had included a clause from the Student Senate action concerning potential implications for UND's entry into the Big Sky Conference. Stofferahn said intercollegiate athletics representatives on the Senate said the nickname is not an issue there.

In various forms, the three House bills would direct UND to retain the nickname and logo. Two would mandate keeping the symbols unless a referendum at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation goes against their use. The third bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Al Carlson, R-Fargo, simply declares that intercollegiate athletic teams at UND "shall be known as the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux," and authorizes the attorney general to consider filing a federal antitrust claim against the NCAA if it seeks to penalize the university.

The NCAA in 2005 directed all member schools to eliminate Native American nicknames, logos and mascots or face sanctions. UND appealed, then sued the NCAA when its appeal was rejected. A negotiated settlement of that lawsuit gave the State Board of Higher Education until last fall to win the OK of two namesake tribes, Standing Rock and Spirit Lake, to keep the Fighting Sioux name and logo. Spirit Lake voters and the Tribal Council there gave their approval, but efforts to arrange a vote at Standing Rock failed.

In April, the state board directed UND to begin the transition process away from the name and logo.

Stofferahn said he "was approached by a number of groups on campus" and asked to bring the resolution to the University Senate.

"They were concerned that, after the hearing on these bills, they thought the university community should be heard from as an official body," he said.

The discussion on his resolution "was remarkably brief," he said. "Compared to earlier years when we had this discussion, there was very little contentiousness. Even those who said they are ambivalent or even in favor of keeping the nickname said it was time to move on. It's too divisive an issue to keep hanging over our heads. They want it resolved."

One faculty member of the Senate called the nickname debate "a millstone around the university's neck," Stofferahn said.

He said he has sent copies of the resolution to members of the House Education Committee and members of the Grand Forks legislative delegation.

The Education Committee heard more than eight hours of testimony on the bills Jan. 26 and may act on the proposed legislation later this week, the committee chairman said.

Reach Haga at (701) 780-1102; (800) 477-6572, ext. 102; or send e-mail to chaga@gfherald.com.

[dakota fairways]

just for clarification, this is the faculty senate, right? would any other decision have been expected from them?

[sioux7>5]

just for clarification, this is the faculty senate, right? would any other decision have been expected from them?

I have never seen a bigger group of morons on the planet then these PC a$%holes!!!!! They are just there to guide us dummies I guess. They really think that they are smarter then the common person and that they have to safe us from ourselves.

[rsioux]

http://www.grandfork...icle/id/192728/

UND University Senate votes to oppose bills seeking to save Sioux nickname

UND's University Senate has adopted a resolution opposing all three Fighting Sioux nickname bills under consideration at the North Dakota Legislature

By: Chuck Haga, Grand Forks Herald

UND's University Senate has adopted a resolution opposing all three Fighting Sioux nickname bills under consideration at the North Dakota Legislature.

The vote Thursday was overwhelming, with only a few members voting against or abstaining, said Curtis Stofferahn, professor of sociology and vice president of the University Senate.

An exact vote count was not immediately available.

The University Senate includes faculty, staff, student and administration representatives. Its vote against the nickname bills follows a similar action Jan. 23 by the UND Student Senate.

The University Senate resolution used language from the Student Senate resolution, noting that the university has begun the transition away from the nickname and logo, the bills would "only reignite the division over the 'Fighting Sioux' nickname and logo and further divide our university, the city of Grand Forks and the state of North Dakota."

Also, according to the resolution, there would be "unknown" costs to a potential new legal battle with the NCAA.

The University Senate resolution had included a clause from the Student Senate action concerning potential implications for UND's entry into the Big Sky Conference. Stofferahn said intercollegiate athletics representatives on the Senate said the nickname is not an issue there.

In various forms, the three House bills would direct UND to retain the nickname and logo. Two would mandate keeping the symbols unless a referendum at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation goes against their use. The third bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Al Carlson, R-Fargo, simply declares that intercollegiate athletic teams at UND "shall be known as the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux," and authorizes the attorney general to consider filing a federal antitrust claim against the NCAA if it seeks to penalize the university.

The NCAA in 2005 directed all member schools to eliminate Native American nicknames, logos and mascots or face sanctions. UND appealed, then sued the NCAA when its appeal was rejected. A negotiated settlement of that lawsuit gave the State Board of Higher Education until last fall to win the OK of two namesake tribes, Standing Rock and Spirit Lake, to keep the Fighting Sioux name and logo. Spirit Lake voters and the Tribal Council there gave their approval, but efforts to arrange a vote at Standing Rock failed.

In April, the state board directed UND to begin the transition process away from the name and logo.

Stofferahn said he "was approached by a number of groups on campus" and asked to bring the resolution to the University Senate.

"They were concerned that, after the hearing on these bills, they thought the university community should be heard from as an official body," he said.

The discussion on his resolution "was remarkably brief," he said. "Compared to earlier years when we had this discussion, there was very little contentiousness. Even those who said they are ambivalent or even in favor of keeping the nickname said it was time to move on. It's too divisive an issue to keep hanging over our heads. They want it resolved."

One faculty member of the Senate called the nickname debate "a millstone around the university's neck," Stofferahn said.

He said he has sent copies of the resolution to members of the House Education Committee and members of the Grand Forks legislative delegation.

The Education Committee heard more than eight hours of testimony on the bills Jan. 26 and may act on the proposed legislation later this week, the committee chairman said.

Reach Haga at (701) 780-1102; (800) 477-6572, ext. 102; or send e-mail to chaga@gfherald.com.

Shocker!!!!

[BigGreyAnt41]

I have never seen a bigger group of morons on the planet then these PC a$%holes!!!!! They are just there to guide us dummies I guess. They really think that they are smarter then the common person and that they have to safe us from ourselves.

It's always funny when somebody calls people "morons" even though they apparently don't know the difference between "then" and "than".

[tho0505]

It's always funny when somebody calls people "morons" even though they apparently don't know the difference between "then" and "than".

Didn't expect to see the grammar police out today. I guess we're all pretty bored without the Sioux playing in over a week.

[ShilohSioux]

I guess we're all pretty bored without the Sioux playing in over a week.

I believe we played Saturday evening in Vermillion.

[sioux7>5]

It's always funny when somebody calls people "morons" even though they apparently don't know the difference between "then" and "than".

Sorry I misspelled a word, I guess you are perfect.

[yababy8]

VERY ballsy of the UND faculty representatives to ignore the will of the majority in a democracy. And then to further suggest that it would be divisive to vote in line with the majority of people.

In their complete and utter arrogance they are blind to the mountain of propaganda with which they have been brainwashed.

[Goon]

VERY ballsy of the UND faculty representatives to ignore the will of the majority in a democracy. And then to further suggest that it would be divisive to vote in line with the majority of people.

In their complete and utter arrogance they are blind to the mountain of propaganda with which they have been brainwashed.

I know the sociology professor quoted in the article, he is lucky he can tie his own shoe... His comments don't surprise me one bit.

[jodcon]

Didn't expect to see the grammar police out today. I guess we're all pretty bored without the Sioux playing in over a week.

I don't know if it's boredom or cabin fever or what, but it's gotten pretty chippy on here the last week or so, seems like every comment whether joking or in earnest has the potential to start a big rhubarb, I'm about half leary of even posting this and getting hammered.

[The Sicatoka]

UND University Senate votes to oppose bills seeking to save Sioux nickname

UND's University Senate has adopted a resolution opposing all three Fighting Sioux nickname bills under consideration at the North Dakota Legislature

In other news ... the sun rose in the east this morning.

[UNDvince97-01]

I believe we played Saturday evening in Vermillion.

Amen.

[Chewey]

Ah, the Vice President is a sociology professor. That explains a lot. What else would be expected from such a group? If anything, this vote should further firm one's resolve. On a different note, I wonder when the last time was that anyone in the English Department even heard of or lectured about Chaucer, Shakespeare, Melville, Hawthorne, Charlotte Bronte, Edith Wharton, Longfellow, Stephen Crane, etc. I suppose the winds of literature discourse have changed so as to require an intense focus on the shades of meaning of the various truly intellectually enigmatic rantings against the "Fighting Sioux" nickname and what productive academic benefits could be accorded thereby.

[Goon]

I don't know if it's boredom or cabin fever or what, but it's gotten pretty chippy on here the last week or so, seems like every comment whether joking or in earnest has the potential to start a big rhubarb, I'm about half leary of even posting this and getting hammered.

I like Rhubarb pie!!!

[Blackheart]

Isn't the main point of the University... Academics?

I don't blame the people fullfilling the mission of the University, by basically operating the University (teaching students and doing research), for wanting this never-ending negative saga to end. I agree with what many have already said: "shocker".

Yes, and there is a lot that could be learned here. These academic types could embrace this as a teaching opportunity...or just sweep it under the rug...(no offense to Frank Mazzocco)

[ShilohSioux]

VERY ballsy of the UND faculty representatives to ignore the will of the majority in a democracy. And then to further suggest that it would be divisive to vote in line with the majority of people.

In their complete and utter arrogance they are blind to the mountain of propaganda with which they have been brainwashed.

I'm not disagreeing with anything written in this thread but it seems so odd that we love the university (and its athletic teams) so much but dismiss a large percentage of the faculty as arrogant, morans, etc....? What is it about the university experience that has made us passionate about the institution despite the faculty, or is the university senate not representative of many of the faculty we knew or remember?

[yababy8]

You, like the majority of faculty reps, miss the point.

The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of people in North Dakota including native Americans believe that the Nickname should used by UND.

So governing bodies are either "arrogantly" dismissing the clear will of those that they represent or they are being influenced by covert forces.

This whole name change sham is nothing more than a sad commentary demonstrating how we as a culture have lost our sense of democracy.

WE THE PEOPLE are simply not being heard, or more accurately our will has been rejected.

Regardless of the cause, what does it mean when the will of the majority is rejected?

[The Sicatoka]

Which "academic" are we talking about here?

The Charles E. Kupchella academic, who was on the record with USCHO saying how he thought the debate on campus was good. He stated that debates like this, with many shades of grey, are real and encountered every day in the world and how it sharpens minds to consider all the views and nuances, or

The Robert O. Kelley academic, who is talking a great game about open and transparent process, but things just seem to 'happen' the way he wants them too. But no one really seems to know how. But the outcome seems pre-defined to Kelley's liking.

So which "academic" flavor do you favor: Open thought and debate, or rubric handed down from on high.

[rsioux]

Good post, but in response, the same could be said about what you just wrote. It could be said that you're missing the point, and the POINT of the University is education, not a nickname. These are vastly different perspectives.

The nickname was here long before these professors teaching here today, if it was so offensive to them in the first place, why work here? I believe it is still a free country we are living in, if they do not like the nickname, go find a job some where else if they are that unhappy. The vast majority that do like the nickname still pay taxes just like the ones that don't, I think you know where I'm going here?

[yababy8]

Good post, but in response, the same could be said about what you just wrote. It could be said that you're missing the point, and the POINT of the University is education, not a nickname. These are vastly different perspectives.

With all due respect I don't think I am missing the point.

Perspectives are not relevant to my point.

Your lack of clarity here is reflective of a confusion that most have with respect to this issue; where we have been mired in the concepts of "debate" and "perspective" to the end where we become tolerant of the will of the majority being rejected.

[gjw007]

I like Rhubarb pie!!!

Now if it were blueberry pie, we're talking. At this stage, does anybody really expect the name not to change? The Sioux name was unique to North Dakota; if it has to go, I would keep it as the University of North Dakota without a nickname. It also would be unique in college sports and emphasizes the University of North Dakota brand. I know others differ mostly because of the habit of having nicknames for teams but nothing says there has to be a nickname. Well, that's my two cents on the issue. Now back to that blueberry pie, I think I'll have to go find some

[Siouxbooster#33]

The faculty have a funny double-standard they are employing in the nickname debate: They curse the nickname as divisive and a "millstone" around the University's neck (nice Biblical reference from the usually non-Biblical scholars). At the same time, they would declare that athletics have nothing to do with the academics of the University. They appear to be able to easily swing their argument back and forth, depending on the circumstance.

When it comes to funding, for instance, the academic side of the University are often quite vocal -- when gifts, funds, or capital expenditures are directed to athletic programs. The common rallying cry from the academic sector is: "The University is NOT about athletics. Funding should be directed to academic needs."

But when the academics have a chance to pontificate from the top of the dias about the nickname issue (for instance), we are told that this "athletics issue" is damaging the University (we may infer that the damage is being caused to the academic wing of the University).

Are there hard facts to back up the professor's claims? Are there any hard facts that show because our sports teams use the name Fighting Sioux, and that as a result of this name, the college is so tainted that grants are being denied, raises being refused, speaking engagements are being declined, publication opportunities are lost, and research is being rejected?

I have wondered, and I am still grappling with the question: Who is UND? Who are we? Who has the right to speak for UND?

I safely include all present students and alumni in that list. I tend to view alumni status as a lifelong mark. Those who attend (attended) UND all paid a hefty price for admission to this private club -- we paid with our time, a period of our life, our money, our seemingly-never-ending loans. Many of us wear the school colors with some varying levels of pride. We take pride and ownership in our school. Its ours. We can't change jobs and suddenly NOT be from UND. We are all UND, forever. Even if some take limited pride in this status -- the status nonetheless remains.

I am not sure who else IS UND. Professors are important, for without them there is no school. But thier relationship is more employer-employee, isn't it? I mean, professors will come and go, as the job market dictates. Do professors have the same emotional attachment to the school wherein they instruct? I don't beleive they do. I think their attachment is something less than the students and alumni.

I am not sure where the local residents, non-alumni, non-student UND supporters fits on this list. Their connection is realistically less than the professors, since these people have nothing except geographic location to attach them to UND. Of course, not everyone goes to college, or goes to UND. These people often have just as deep an emotional stake in UND's health and wellness as the students. So in some ways, their relationship with the school is more deep, more profound, and lasts much longer than msot of the professors (and possibly many of the alumni).

Which of these groups is fit, best, to speak to what is good and not good for the school?

Unless the President of the Unviversity, along with his faculty, can clearly articulate a significant amount of damage caused to the University by continued use of the Fighting Sioux name, then these people MUST bend to the will of the people who have the greater stake in the college. These academics must, in my opinion, accept the will of the students and alumni unless, and until, SOLID proof is shown otherwise.

Not vague arguments about "you just need to educate yourself." I am pretty certain I have followed this issue with more passion and dedication than virtually every professor or faculty member. And I can guess I have been following it for longer than most ofthe professors and leadership have been at UND.

I want hard proof that this name is damaging the academic side of the college. Absent that proof, I respectfully request that the faculty keep their noses out of MY business, shut up, and do their stinking jobs. This fight does not concern them, it never has, it never will.

[Chewey]

Great post! I agree entirely. The various professors'/administrators' concerns have more to do with establishing and maintaining PC cred among their "colleagues" who evidently laugh behind their backs in the elevator when they attend their conferences, etc. How intellectually numb, lazy or atrophied does one have to be so as to become fixated on a nickname and to concoct some hypersensitivity to it in order to appear "enlightened" or "astute" vis-a-vis like-minded so-called educators? I seem to recall an article about some professor at the U of Colorado who attended a basketball game against the Figiting Illini and was so "outraged" about that nickname that it took away from his appreciation/pleasure of watching the game. Note to said "outraged" professor: Hie thee to a mental institution, if you please.

[Blackheart]

I have wondered, and I am still grappling with the question: Who is UND? Who are we? Who has the right to speak for UND?

I safely include all present students and alumni in that list. I tend to view alumni status as a lifelong mark. Those who attend (attended) UND all paid a hefty price for admission to this private club -- we paid with our time, a period of our life, our money, our seemingly-never-ending loans. Many of us wear the school colors with some varying levels of pride. We take pride and ownership in our school. Its ours. We can't change jobs and suddenly NOT be from UND. We are all UND, forever. Even if some take limited pride in this status -- the status nonetheless remains.

Well said, thank you!