No matter what one thinks about the appropriateness of the Fighting Sioux logo at the University of North Dakota, a cheap shot does nothing to advance civil debate or come to a resolution.
Today a UND student organization will lower itself to cheap-shot status by giving a representative of the NCAA an award as a way to say thank you for the NCAA's work on the nickname/logo issue. The university is challenging in court the NCAA's conclusion that the logo is part of a "hostile and abusive" environment, and therefore university athletic teams cannot participate in post-season tournaments. The NCAA's prohibition has been put on hold by an injunction.
The student organization, BRIDGES, will present the NCAA's director of diversity and inclusion, Corey Jackson, with the Rosa Parks Award. Jackson, who ought to know better, said he'll attend today's ceremony.
The awards luncheon was organized by UND's Multicultural Student Services office to recognize contributions that reflect the spirit of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. The award to the NCAA does not serve that noble purpose. King's life was about bringing people together, not driving them apart. Thanking the NCAA for misrepresenting the American Indian experience on the UND campus is, in effect, an in-your-face insult to all the people of good will who are trying mightily to resolve the logo controversy.
A couple of things:
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First, UND is challenging the NCAA not on the merit (or lack thereof) of the logo. The university's case goes to the inconsistent and arbitrary process NCAA has used to reject or approve American Indian logos/nicknames on its member campuses. UND's case is strong. If the school prevails in court, the victory does not mean UND will keep the Fighting Sioux logo/nickname.
Secondly, the NCAA's wrongheaded assessment that the logo/nickname creates a hostile and abusive environment on campus for Indian students does not square with reality. Anyone who chooses to be honest about it, knows UND is one of the most progressive universities when it comes to Indian education and cultural understanding. Native students aren't coming to the campus because it's hostile and abusive.
Finally, the student organization's "award" smells like the work of a gaggle of faculty activists which seems to revel in being chronically offended. Their history suggests they are more interested in self-aggrandizement than in being part of a reasonable resolution of the Fighting Sioux controversy.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper's Editorial Board.
