Campuses debate ethnic symbols BOT reopens Chief debate as ‘dialogue’ with open forum by Nicole Wagner and Yvonne Zusel Daily Illini reporters The University board of trustees announced its plans to reopen the debate surrounding Chief Illiniwek on Wednesday. The board originally agreed to restart the Chief debate Jan. 13, and the University hired legal counsel to help gather and present opinions on the Chief to the board of trustees. William Engelbrecht, chairman of the board of trustees, called the announcement “a tangible expression of that commitment” in a statement. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and the general public are invited to share their opinions in writing. Opinions may be e-mailed to: Dialogue@uillinois.edu. Written submissions may be sent to: Dialogue on Chief Illiniwek, P.O. Box 5052, Champaign, Ill., 61825. The submission deadline is May 31. Chief opponents criticized the board’s method of gathering opinions. “The board needs to do more then just give an e-mail address,” said Brooke Anderson, spokeswoman for the Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative, a key anti-Chief group. “On one hand I’m frustrated because we’ve been trying to debate with the board for over a decade. But PRC is willing and eager to begin dialogue with the board on this issue.” An open forum will also be held April 14 for those who want to express their views. A report prepared after the meeting by the legal counsel will consist of a summary of the different arguments. The various arguments will be funneled into different points, which the board will then consider. The report will then go to board members Aug. 1. Another meeting will be held at the beginning of next semester to respond to the findings of the legal counsel. “This plan should allow opinions to be heard and allow the board to respond to all of the issues raised during the process,” Engelbrecht said in the statement. “I urge everyone interested in this issue to offer his or her opinion. We’ll be listening.” The plan for discussion on the Chief came on the heels of the Urbana-Champaign Senate’s decision to table the vote for the athletic board faculty nominees. The vote to nominate University professors Matthew Wheeler and Donald Wuebbles to the Athletic Board was postponed Monday partly because senate members wanted to hear the nominees’ opinions on Chief Illiniwek. “From my perspective, I think it would be a big mistake for the Senate to use the Chief as a litmus test to see whether or not someone is nominated,” said Robert Rich, faculty chair of the U-C Senate. Rich also said diversity might have also played a part in the 51-42 vote to postpone the nomination. Some senators were concerned because a female faculty member was not nominated, Rich said.