UIUC != UF
Nov. 17, 2002
The University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign is a strange place. I'm nearing the completion of my first semester, and the two biggest political issues on campus are the campaign to abolish our mascot, Chief Illiniwek and the effort to unionize the graduate students.
The first issue is something I have no opinion on, and I don't understand why the mascot is such a big deal anyway. Of course, since I didn't attend this school as an undergraduate, it is understandable that I have no pride in the mascot. Also, the Chief has no discernable effect on the performance of UIUC athletics, so the only detrimental effect of abolishing it would be that my hooded sweatshirt would be obsolete. On the other hand, the main argument for abolition of the Chief is that it is somhow offensive to native Americans attending UIUC, and creates a hostile environment for all minorities. I'm not really sure I buy that argument, especially since the main backers are white, upper class liberal arts students. Also, UF's chief rival, FSU, has a native American mascot , but no one really seems to complain about that. In addition, FSU requires that the person performing as Chief Osceola at all football games be a member of the Seminole tribe. Also, FSU is careful to authentically replicate the traditional Seminole dress. I don't know anything about the traditions surrounding Chief Illiniwek, but perhaps if UIUC simply took more time to accurately represent the Illini, this wouldn't even be an issue.
As for the unionization, we have a vote on whether we graduate students should unionize on Dec. 3, and I'm voting "no." I'm happy with my pay and benefits, and I see little wrongdoing on the part of the administration that would prompt me to change that. I'm concerned that our alliance with the AFT/AFL-CIO would put unnecessary burdens on our interests as graduate students. I'm not too interested in paying dues either, especially since I am paid more than the average teaching assistant. Finally, RAs aren't represented by the union, and most grad students in my department are RAs.