Grand Forks Herald - An advisory body of UND faculty, administrators and student leaders passed a resolution Thursday night against the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo, saying the controversial monikers interfere with the school's academic mission.
A majority of the University Senate, about 40 members, voted in favor of the resolution offered by Birgit Hans, chairperson of UND's Indian Studies Department. However, many high-level school administrators, such as vice presidents and deans, abstained from voting.
And the student contingent of the senate formed a unanimous block of opposition, led by Bobby Haskins, president of the student body.
The group of about 14 students forced a voice roll-call vote of the issue after it loudly expressed a collective "nay" to the resolution, making it difficult for Senate chairwoman Sue Jennie to discern a majority.
Bruce Smith, dean of UND aerospace, and John Watson, dean of engineering and mines, joined the students in opposition.
The resolution focused on the impact on UND academics, but Haskins said the nickname and logo aren't major distractions in students' lives.
"The majority of the students are telling me to vote against this, and those are the people I serve," Haskins told the rest of the senate.
"I've never, that I can think of, had it come before me in a classroom," said Nathaniel Hilliard, another student member on the senate.
The idea that the logo controversy is somehow impacting the university's academic business is silly. And, if it is, it is only because professors are letting it happen. I would be willing to bet that most of the faculty/students who voted against the nickname did so more out of a feeling of needing to be "politically correct" than any real concern for academic impact.
There are also things to be considered outside of what the faculty/student body believes should be done with the nickname. Whether these students or professors like it or not, UND athletics bring in a ton of money to the university. The Sioux nickname is very much supported by the patrons and fans of the school's sports teams. Changing the nickname could have financial consequences for the school, and I'm quite certain that those consequences would have a much bigger impact on the school's academic departments than the current controversy over the name change.
But we'll see what happens. It is also interesting to note that the school's president, Charles Kupchella, has been hosting delegations from the state's various Indian tribes at the school. It will be interesting to see what tribal interests have to say about the nickname after their visits, though the tribal stance on the issue has been something less than consistent in the past.