As a UND faculty member and citizen of North Dakota I am appalled and angry at the State Board of Higher Education¹s intellectually barren and morally bankrupt command that UND keep the Fighting Sioux name and institute a new "Indian head" symbol.
The Board will be remembered for its part in keeping institutional racism alive and well.
I am also extremely disappointed in UND President Charles Kupchella¹s apparent acquiescence in this inappropriate and misguided decision.
The people and organizations who were able to afford to pay the price are the "winners." Justice and human rights (not to mention faculty governance) are the losers.
The movement to end the use of a racist name and symbol may fail to achieve its objective in the short run‹but the protests are only momentarily stilled. The minds of many are beginning to change. Those people who are able to reach outside the framework of a frontier mentality are beginning to understand the racist implications of the Fighting Sioux name and "Indian head symbol. The State Board¹s decision has condemned UND to further controversy, protests and national scrutiny in addition to jeopardizing the safety of people on this campus.