The Chief
Letter

Chief issue not about race

Letter | The Daily Illini
Published Wednesday, April 28, 2004

The debate over Chief Illiniwek shows no sign of ending soon, but an ominous element of the discourse should alarm anyone who loves and cares about the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

I am referring to the rhetoric of race and the increasing innuendo and bald-faced assertions that those who are not opposed to the Chief are motivated by racism. It is a false and unfair insinuation that inflames an already emotional debate and exacerbates an already intractable situation.

In fact, the multitudes of opinions on all sides of the Chief issue are based on principal positions by virtually everyone with a point of view. Certainly there is not one member of the Board of Trustees who is driven by racism in his or her deliberations on this matter.

Nevertheless, the rhetoric of race is intensifying. And whether it is intentional or not, it is deceptive and makes it all the harder for opposing sides to come together to resolve the issue. The most recent example was a disingenuous Daily Illini column ("Racial stereotypes dehumanize," April 21) that suggested Board of Trustee Chairman Lawrence Eppley and his colleagues are impelled by race when it comes to the Chief.

Chairman Eppley and his colleagues on the Board of Trustees have done an exemplary job under difficult circumstances to work toward a solution that includes accommodation by both sides. But exchange will not occur if either side persists with assertions that are false and incendiary.

James J. Stukel

president, University of Illinois