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Mascot issue always a difficult one to handle
A read of the story about American Indian mascots in this edition of University Chronicle suggests that the issue will again be a volatile one in the coming months.
This year, for the first time ever, the University Chronicle editorial board had a pre-sports-season meeting to discuss our policy on the use of mascots, nicknames and logos that some students, faculty or the general public might find offensive.
The controversy, of course, stems from University of North Dakota’s “Fighting Sioux” team nickname.
Last year, campus media came under fire for using “Fighting Sioux,” which a significant number of students and faculty felt was derogatory and disrespectful.
At the same time, an equal number of people voiced their support of campus media for using “Fighting Sioux,” since that is what UND’s teams are called.
Certainly it’s not an easy issue. There’s no black or white here.
In view of the controversy that enveloped the campus last year, University Chronicle quickly came up with a mascot policy. This year, we wanted to re-examine the policy, and thoughtfully prepare a revised one in advance of the hockey and basketball seasons.
As a newspaper, we feel our job is to be objective and state facts, offensive though they may be. But we also feel we can approach an issue such as this with some discretion.
Our policy is as follows: since UND’s nickname is “Fighting Sioux,” to be accurate and state facts, we will use the full team name occasionally but sparingly, and always in quotes. This, we feel, is a way to be accurate without adopting and accepting the UND’s mascot. “Fighting Sioux” is their term, not ours.
However, anytime we interview a person who says “Fighting Sioux,” we will not alter the quote.
Concerning UND’s logo, which depicts an American Indian man’s head in profile, University Chronicle will seek avenues not to use the logo as a graphic. Instead, we will try to use the school’s letters “UND” for their logo in our graphics.
This is the mascot policy we plan to adhere to for the duration of the school year. We feel our policy is both fair in stating facts and respectful in not using the name “Fighting Sioux” lightly.
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