Opinion
Opinion: Silly fight over 'Fighting Sioux' nick


"The best move Harvard athletic director Bob Scalise made last week wasn�t reappointing Tim Murphy as the school�s football coach. That was something of a no-brainer after Murphy helmed the Crimson during another winning season and emerged validated from the myriad disciplinary issues that cropped up around the squad during the summer and early fall.

No, the best thing Scalise has done recently is to do nothing at all. That�s compared to Dartmouth AD Josie Harper, who recently issued a written public apology in the campus newspaper to �the Native American community, and the Dartmouth community as a whole,� for scheduling a men�s hockey game between the Big Green and the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. According to Harper, �UND�s position,� i.e. having a nickname and mascot that invoke a native tribe, is �offensive and wrong.�

Groan.

At heart, this is an issue of 21st century political correctness. The history of unjust dealings with Native Americans is utterly reprehensible and there�s an impulse to try to make amends now, post-violence, by outlawing stereotypical depictions of indigenous culture. Or, wait, is it American Indians? The list of too-sensitive nouns and verbs is changing and expanding so rapidly I fear I�ll be consigned to writing columns composed only of prepositions by the time my stint in this space is over."

Get the Story:
Jonathan Lehman: No Sense In Anti-Mascot Crusade (The Crimson 12/6)

Relevant Links:
University of North Dakota - http://www.und.edu
The Ralph - http://www.theralph.com
Fighting Sioux - http://www.fightingsioux.com

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