Let’s move on from the whole Chief retirement issue. Let’s give up after fighting for 20 some years over our 80 some year old tradition. Let’s focus on the bigger issues here on campus.

Like how it’s February and it’s 50 degrees outside. The snow melts during the day and then freezes at night. The sidewalks have “death” written all over them.

A basketball player got drunk and drove, hitting a tree. He drove home and thought his passenger was dead so he left him in the car to rot and went into his apartment.

We may not be able to get into the bars before 11 a.m. on Unofficial- and omg!!! Only one keg per residence?!

The ice will melt, the basketball players will be fine, and we’ll all still get obliterated on UnOfficial. But if we let this University take away Chief, we will lose him forever. We need to stand up, if we don’t, what is next? We all know that “Fighting Illini” will be the next to go, and I sure don’t want to be known as the “Mellow Trout” or anything else the BOT would come up with. Pretty soon even the Alma Mater will be a “racist” aspect of our University.

So let’s go Illini- let’s protect our school and our traditions. Don’t cave to the minority opinion. They have the right to feel and think however they want about Chief, but they don’t have the right to be right. Whoever says that Chief’s dance is offensive has serious insecurity issues. I have never met anyone who has been able to defend this stance.

It’s not too late, we still have to fight. We’ve got 7 months ’til kickoff.

Chief Illiniwek: You may take him off our shirts, but you’ll never take him out of our hearts.

CJ Bauer

University alumna ’09