Forum a war of words
Emotions build as Foellinger fills with activists, opinions

by John Zaremba
Senior writer

Jim Atwood The Daily Illini

Alan West, junior in LAS, laughs as Agnes Simms, Champaign, speaks in favor of maintaining Chief Illiniwek as the University mascot at the Dialogue on Chief Illiniwek on Friday afternoon in Foellinger Auditorium. West said he reacted to a statement by Simms about "our triumphant history." West wondered to whom "our" referred.

Friday's Special Intake Session started smoothly - almost desolately - but in the later hours built up into an emotionally charged war of words.

When Howard Wakeland of the Save the Chief Organization approached the microphone as the day's first speaker, Foellinger Auditorium was nearly empty.

But as the morning went by, activists as well as curious students dropped by, little by little. As the crowd grew, audience members began interjecting more often.

Jayne Waupanook, a Chief opponent, spoke halfway through the morning session. She told the crowd that the Chief kept her from applying to the University.

"Tell it, sister," a woman in the audience shouted.

Waupanook, already breaking into tears, had to pause a few times before she was done speaking.

Protests outside Foellinger started to gain attention during the session's lunch break. A crowd sat on Foellinger's steps, watching as men sat around a drum, beating it and singing American Indian music. Prominent American Indian activist Michael Haney called it "Indian soul."

American Indian Dennis Banks, wearing a red shirt with an upside-down American flag embroidered on the back, referred to the music during his speech after the break.

"The death song for the Chief has started," he said.

Only once during the six hours of dialogue did former Cook County Circuit Judge Louis Garippo have to calm the crowd. Adam Chaddock, a Chief supporter, said most of the Chief opponents represented other parts of the country - not the University. He said getting rid of the Chief would cause more harm than good. His comments were met with shouts from the crowd: One audience member called him a monster.

Jim Atwood The Daily Illini

The Daily Illini A member of the American Indian Movement attempts to set fire to a Chicago Blackhawks jersey on the patio in front of Foellinger Auditorium during the lunch break of the Dialogue on Chief Illiniwek on Friday. The anti-Chief protesters were not able to set the jersey on fire due to the flame-retardant material of the jersey.

"Let's not, at this stage in the proceedings, let it deteriorate," Garippo said. On Sunday, he added: "From that time on, I didn't feel like it came close to the point where I thought I had to say it again."

As the afternoon wore on, the largely anti-Chief crowd became more animated. Speeches earlier in the day usually garnered polite applause, but as testimony got more emotional, the crowd rose to its feet several times.

Chief opponent Dino Pollock, a former Illinois football player, ignited the crowd with sharp, accusatory statements.

"Appeals to white institutions and white people don't work. Emotional appeals do not work with you, and logic doesn't work," Pollock said. "It seems the only thing white institutions and white people understand is litigation and violence."

The crowd stood up in applause when Pollock finished speaking. As he walked up a side aisle toward the back of the auditorium, several crowd members saluted him.

Chief supporter Agnes Simms, who attended the University from 1947 to 1951, spoke immediately after Pollock.

"Chief Illiniwek is part of my heritage, too," she said.

The crowd began to moan. Simms said she was interrupted so many times that she was unable to say everything she wanted to.

Simms was among the last speakers before the dialogue ended at 4:30 p.m. A few scheduled speakers were omitted.

"The remarks were eloquent on both sides," Garippo said. "We've heard a lot."