Believe exile will be temporary. If “we are loyal to you, Illinois, … for we know you have sand” or grit, we can be no more. Vanity has led to this decision, for it helps no one, solves no one. Consider, were the South Carolina Darkies to have Little Black Sambo as a symbol, and Sambo were to be retired, we would still have the nickname. Just as we would have to banish the Darkies, just as Miami of Ohio did away with “Redskins,” now we must erase “Illini,” for you cannot call yourself what you are ashamed to depict. This is silly, pathetic, for it is illogical. The new name? Goldenrods, for they sway in the wind, in its direction, in unison, no backbone.

Greg Black

Danville, IN