Chief consensus

By Rob Pacey

To Chairman Eppley and the honorable members of the Board of Trustees: You need a remedial lesson in the definition of consensus. The only “consensus” that was ever reached in the Chief debate was this: a small, vocal, politically correct, self-appointed minority would have the final say of what was best for the University, its alumni, the community, and the state of Illinois as a whole. Those of us who still support Chief Illiniwek are those of us who cherish a sacred belief in honor, bravery, loyalty and courage, and you will never be able to take that away, not on February 21., not ever. In your quest to make a few dissenters happy, you have forgotten the most important point in the entire debate: Chief Illiniwek lives inside us all. Former football coach Robert Zuppke coined the phrase “Illiniwek” to mean man’s highest state of mental and physical development, carried out in the name of his fellow man. In the form of Chief Illiniwek, the Native American legacy to which we owe our state’s name and history is not trampled upon on in the name of white supremacy. On the contrary, I would argue that it is exalted into something spiritual which transcends us all and whose beauty we can only hope to comprehend in our lifetime. If you don’t believe me, come to the Hall one final time and witness the sound of 16,000 people weeping out of respect as chills run up and down their spine. Chief Illiniwek was never a mascot; he is and will forever be a tribute to the spirit of the people of the state of Illinois: past, present, and future. With no offense to the Marching Illini, this is the ultimate Three in One. Oskee wow wow and Go Illini.

Rob Pacey

junior in LAS