The Chief Illiniwek debate has lasted over 20 years. Some would say the Chief issue is a serious problem at the University.

Professor Walter Benn Michaels, who teaches English at the University of Illinois at Chicago, thinks otherwise.

“Stop worrying about the Chief,” Michaels said. “It’s complete bullshit; zero significance.”

In October 2006, Michaels published what he said is a controversial book, “The Trouble with Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality.”

He said the basic premise of the book is that in the last 30 years, America has focused on the importance of diversity in respecting a variety of cultures and races.

Michaels said America has been paying attention to celebrating diversity so much that individuals have been overlooking the more profound problem – the economic inequality between classes, especially when it comes to higher education.

“There are more minorities on campus, more Asian kids, and at the same time, universities have become a lot richer,” Michaels said.

“The income of students is higher and the poorer students are lower,” he said.

According to the New York Times Book Review, Michaels said he opposes affirmative action and proposes the riddance of race-based scholarships.

Michaels said there are an increasing number of “false problems,” or red herrings, which conceal the real problem.

He added that colleges and universities are overlooking the real issue involving economic diversity, the disparity between the rich and the poor.

“The actual problem is it’s getting harder for the poor to get an education in this society,” Michaels said.

He said Americans like to toy with the idea of achieving an ideal society, free of racism and sexism, but completely ignore exploitation.

To combat exploitation, Michaels proposes the redistribution of wealth and income through imposing higher taxes.

He added that his book sparked controversy with both the right wing and leftists.

The beliefs the leftists uphold include the importance of race and sex, he said.

He added that conservatives oppose redistribution of wealth because it’s “communist.”

“The whole book is a response to those arguments,” Michaels said.

He said anti-Chief students should not victimize themselves, for example by yelling at football games in response to the Chief’s performances, because it’s an “empty issue.”

“The real victims are those who don’t receive an education at the University of Illinois,” Michaels said.