University of Chicago Lab School- Ms. Jacobs' Page

Friday, February 16, 2007

Univ. of Illinois says Goodbye to Chief Illiniwek


The Univiersity of Illinois has decided to give up Chief Illiniwek as its mascot. Read the article below for more information.

U of I Ends Chief Illiniwek's Run

-What do you think about the university's decision? Do you agree/disagree that Chief Illiniwek should be retired?
-Do you think it's right for the two students to sue the university? Why/why not?
-What would you do if you were the judge who had to hear the case of the two students?

posted by Charlotte Jacobs at 9:38 AM

36 Comments:

  • I think that it was a bad idea to let the cheif go because the people who choreograph the dances think it through thouroughly.
    Erin M.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:56 AM  

  • they were right to ban him because he is racist to Native Amercans.


    The CHosen One

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:56 AM  

  • I think it was a relatively good decision to retire Chief Illiniwek. However, I also agree with the students' want to sue. They had good grounds, but I would not say that they should win.
    Grant Y.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:04 AM  

  • the chief was not a good exaple of a mascot and it is good he's gone. but i thnk it took a while for the piont to be made and for somethng to be done. also it was probably the best coice but not eh most favored among people.

    Tony G

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:04 AM  

  • I've got mixed feelings about the termination of chief Illiniwek. I've been an official Illini fan for 8 years because my mom went there and I really like their basketball team, I like the Indian head logo that you can see on shirts and on my hat. I do have some some things against the Chief himself, he's portrayed by a non-Native American man who dances in ways that Native Americans consider sacred. So I only have one thing to say, rest in pieces, Chief.
    Jacob Chereskin

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:10 AM  

  • 1. Yes I agree with the university that Chief Illini should not able to be a mascot because it is offencive to some people and it is racist.

    2. No because there are losts of people who are offended by Chief Illini and Chief Illini is not authentic.

    3. I would say that Chief Illini has to go because peoples cultures and what they believe in is more important than a half time show.

    Katherine Garvey :)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:12 AM  

  • I think it is a good thing that the university decided to retire Chief Illiniwek because many people found it offensive when he danced and wore traditional clothing. It is disrespectful and innacurate. I think that the students should not be sueing the university because they have no reason to. Taking away Chief Illiniwek would mean they wouldn't do the dance anymore, but they don't get anything but attention from doing the dance. If I were the judge, I would take the university's side because it seems like te students don't have much of a reason to sue them.
    ~Ary H.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:17 AM  

  • Yes, I do agree that the Chief is offensive to some people and theereby agree with the University. But, I think that he should still remain as the mascot, but he would not be allowed to do the dance.

    No, I do not think it it right for the students to sue the Unviversity because I do not see any grounds on which this sueing is done. Of corse, because of this they probably wont win....

    I would say that there is no real case or grounds for sueing so I would side with the University.

    Daniel E.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:29 AM  

  • I think that they did do the right thing by getting rid of the chief. I think the students should put theirselves in the offended people's shoes and see why they wantet to get rid of the chief. I think i would not be on the side of the of the students who are suing.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:31 AM  

  • I think that the university made the right decision. Chief Illiniwek clearly offended several people for very understandable reasons. On the other hand, I agree that the students had reasons to sue. Their argument that people enjoyed seeing the Chief at halftime shows is no reason to keep a mascot that is racist toward Native Americans, but I understand the argument that portraying the Chief helps get a job after their career as the Chief is over. Overall, I commend the university for banning Chief Illiniwek.

    -Alice F.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:25 PM  

  • I think that it was a good idea because it was hurting the Native Americans and none of the people on the board were sympathetic. i think it was stupid of the two students to make a lawsuit because it's over and they are just pathetic. they get payed to portray the role and i guess thats why they are doing this.

    -Maddy

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:26 PM  

  • 1. I agree with the university's decision because the Chief wasn't even a Native American! Also the chief offended a lot of people.
    2.The students shouldn't have sued the university because they didn't have a good reason too. They get academic credit for being Chief Illiniwek but they can get academic credit from something else without offending people.
    3.If I were the judge, I would be on the university's side because the Chief is offensive to people and the students don't have a good enough reason to sue.

    Jennifer P.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:47 PM  

  • I agree with the University's decision of letting chief illiniwek go because he was hurting many cultures. I don't think it was right for the students to sue. It's true that they have a freedom of speech, but they are just being selfish. If I was the judge, i would let the cheif go.

    ~Sarah H. 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:53 PM  

  • I agree with the university's decision to get rid of Chief Illiniwek because he was a racist mascot and he was offending a lot of people. I also think that the students shouldn't have sued the U of I but I can see why they did. If I was dancing at huge college basketball games and getting academic credit for it I would be mad if someone took that opportunity away from me. I still think the students shouldn't have sued the university, though. They should have seen why the U of I had taken Chief Illiniwek and decided that the U of I had a good reason for doing so. They also should have seen that it was not that bid of a deal and certainly not worth having a law suit about. If I was the judge I would make sure that the claims of the students made sense and then make a decision based on that. I have to admit that I would like to rule against the students, though.

    Sincerely,
    Justice Nicholas P.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:33 PM  

  • 1. I think the university's decision to retire Chief Illiniwek because people got offended by his clothes and his dance.

    2. I don't think its right for the students to sue the university because, even though a lot of the audience enjoyed Chief Illiniwek, he also offended a lot of the audience.

    3. I would take the university's side because a lot of people were really offended by the way Chief Illiniwek dressed and danced and it was a good thing that he retired.

    Elizabeth G.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:10 PM  

  • I think that university made a good decision in retiring chief Illiniwek. He was a very derogatory Native American figure, and really shows the steriotypes that still exsist in american culture. However, the kids who were portraying Illiniwek have a very good point. They were recieving acedemic credit and there are many job oppertunities down the road. However, they should realize the harm that the mascot is doing. If I were the judge, I would make the program that is giving them credit have them continue to dance in privite, so they can still graduate and become a mascot later on. Because of how racist the chief was, the university was correct in banning him. They should just take due mesure to help the people who were dancing as the mascot.

    Charlie R.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:22 PM  

  • I think they were right to ban Chief Illini because he was offensive to people. It didn't show respect for their culture because they were dressing up in clothes and doing dances that weren't authentic or accurate. I would take the university's side if i was the judge because the mascot is offensive, so the students don't have much of a reason to sue, except maybe that they liked the mascot and that isn't a very good reason. I'm glad that the controversy over Chief Illini is over.
    ~Kelsea H.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:23 PM  

  • I think it was right to ban the mascot. The cheif was very fun to some but it deeply hurt and saddened native american people. It was a tradition but I think it was right to ban him because it hurt alot of people.

    Baby K. (Kayla)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:38 PM  

  • I think that at least they could work to make him not as racist and maybe he could still continue and both sides might be fine.

    I don't really think they should sue them because that their reputation is damaged and that they don't receive as much academic credit.

    I wouldn't really care if their reputation is dulled but I would focus on the fact that there was no due process provided. But since Chief Illiniwek is sort of offending so i would side with the University.

    Andrew X.

    O=O
    U

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:53 PM  

  • I think it was right to ban the Cheif beacuse it was infact racist. The cheif was a mascot that was over 80 yrs old but it may not be racist to those who arnt of Native decent.. But to natives that is racist
    -Sean K

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:43 PM  

  • i think it was right but at the same time i feel a little sad because i read an article that said that in one university the mascot was taken away even though some native americans liked it. i think this is the same here
    -msg

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:56 PM  

  • I think it was a good thing thatb the chief was retired. I mean, if tha Native Americans thought it was offensive, than the university should get rid of the cheif. But, I sort of think that the students had a right to soe. If being that cheif gave you more oppertunities in life, but now that was not avalable it was alright. But personally, they should not have been so many people did not like at all.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:44 PM  

  • I think that it was a good idea to let the chief retire because, the mascot is offensive and racist. Native Americans could be offended. They might find it offensive that there is mascot that is wearing thier traditonal clothing and doing dances. Some of it is most probably inaccurate.

    Saisha N.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:04 PM  

  • i think that the University's decision was not out of line because the fact that the costume and dance were made from non native Americans shows how discriminative it is. but i do think that the chief was part of their school spirit.

    i don't think that it was right for the students to sue because what are they going to sue? that their school spirit was taken away and its not fair." no thats ridiculous!

    if i was the judge i would laugh in their faces.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:23 PM  

  • I think the University was right for banning Chief Illiniwek. I think they should have banned Chief Illiniwek right away when there were complaints from Natives. Now that Chief Illiniwek is a tradition more people will be disappointed about Chief Illiniwek being banned. The games will probably be empty now that Chief Illiniwek won't be dancing, but this is a good lesson for the people at the University.

    -Ceci

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:39 PM  

  • I think that it was both good and bad to ban the cheif. It is good be cause he was a racial stereotype to Native Americans. And it is bad because people have liked the cheif and it was a tradition. Then again some Native Americans have tried to improvise on the cheif but they were turned down so I think its good that the cheif is banned.

    Adam G. (pookie)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:42 PM  

  • I think that it was not right to band the chief because he was a symbol of the Illinois school and it is only offensive if you look at it as someone looking for a problem. I believe that it was right for the two students to sue because they felt it was hurting their chances and also because it was taking away from their campus experience. But some people believe it is wrong because it is done for a reason that is not considered right to Native Americans and they feel it wrong to be done by a non- native American person. So really it hard to say and i believe it will never really be settled and everyone to agree with one idea.
    Simone

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:52 PM  

  • I think it was right to end Chief Illiniwek, because it is racist and sort of mocking the Native American traditions when the non-Native American students would dance and wear sacred clothing. I also don't agree with the students who were suing. All they were saying was that it would be ruing their reputation, but they didn't say how. I think all the students wanted was attention from the dance, and I don't think that is the way to think about Chief Illiniwek. If I had been the judge, I would have sided with the universitys' side because the students didn't have a strong point on keeping the Chief.

    ~Elizabeth M.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:04 PM  

  • I think that Chief Illiniwek should retire, because it is not very authentic to the Native American religion. I don't think that the students should sue. They did not get harmed in any serious way. There is much more serious racism going on around the world. If I were the judge, I would most likely side with the university, because I do not think that any person should be charged with a huge fine, for something that could maybe be fixed in a more peaceful way.
    Lindsay L.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:40 PM  

  • 1) I agree that Chief Illiniwek should be retired because it was racist.

    2) I don't think that it was right of the students to sue the university because they shouldn't sue just because their mascott was taken away.

    3) If I were the judge of the case of the two students, i would not make the university pay, becuase it was right of them to make the racism stop.

    -Izy Ruyter-Harcourt

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:37 AM  

  • I agree that that the chief should be retired because it does portray what some native americans think but i dont think that it was fair to those students who were doing for extra credit i think that they should be given there credits anyway because its not there fault that the chief had to be retired

    Ryan Ross

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:36 PM  

  • I think that it was the right to ban Chief Illiniwek should be retired because he is a stereotype to the Native Americans. Well, I think that it was both because first of all they are standing up for their rights and what they believe in but I don't think they should have made such a big deal out of it even though it wasn't right what the school did. To tell the truth I really don't know what I would do. I probably just have let the two students win the case because I would be able to see what they are talking about and how they feel.


    - Salma S.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:21 AM  

  • In a way he was a tradition so I am sorry they had tolet him go two, 81 is a good age for retirement and three It was hurtful to the Native american community so I am benevolent about the situation.
    CM

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:43 AM  

  • i dont think that they should have gotten rid of cheof illini because he was history to the university of illinois and now they dont have a good mascot since i liked cheif illini.
    Chris Thomas............

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:26 PM  

  • I know that Cheif Illiniwick was a great mascot for the people who go to the school and other people who love the team. even though it was a loved mascot, it was racist and a lot of people say that it wasnt racist but they didnt know what it felt like to be portrayed badly and have people laugh at your culture. i think that it was a good thing to get rid of the chief no matter how many fans loved him.
    Duncan Holmes.

    i am right

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:37 PM  

  • I think that the university made the right decision to retire Chief Illiniwek. I think that the students should not have sued because Cheif Illiniwek was a bad idea in the first place. He was unreal, and offended Native Americans. If I was the judge I would have to tell the two students that they have to find another mascot for good reasons of others. People have lots of fun out of Chief Illiniwek but, we need another mascot.

    -Rebecca A. 8/9

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:39 AM  

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