It truly is sad that the university took away a symbol that means so much to so many, simply for money that postseason contests would bring in. The only reason Chief Illiniwek was retired was under the duress of the NCAA’s sanctions against the University of Illinois. The teams here that vocalized concern about not being able to host post-season contests (and praise about now being able to host those contests as shown on the front page of February 22nd’s sports section) include small teams, such as men’s tennis and gymnastics. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for underrepresented sports, but do they really think that getting rid of the Chief will make more people go to a tennis match even if it is the Big Ten or NCAA Championships? I don’t think so. If I was an avid supporter of an underrepresented sport (and I am, as I truly care about Illinois wrestling and volleyball) I wouldn’t care if the post-season contests were held at home; I would go wherever the team goes if I truly cared.

It truly is sad that “The Big Guys” at the University (boards, committees, presidents, chancellors) don’t care at all about the voice of the students. They are the ones that so hastily retired the Chief, and if someone tries to take away “Fighting Illini”, I am transferring schools, because as proven with the case of the Chief, no matter how much protesting students do, in the end it will not matter.

Kristine Vins

freshman in AHS