FROM THE NATIONAL COALITION ON
RACISM IN SPORTS AND THE MEDIA (NCRSM), 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