University mascot an emblem of institutional racism

Kyle Nelson Sports Columnist

As our campus community experienced all too recently with the discovery of a noose on the sixth floor of Jewett House, and in years past with swastikas adorning walls in Lathrop and Raymond Houses, symbols of hatred are alive and well in our own community.

While some are quick to write off such symbols as dislocated from their historical and social contexts, others have recognized the national and global implications of these symbols. The image of a noose represents a history of lynching and terror enforced by the public sphere. Despite this historical connection, some people still cannot grasp the implications of such a symbol. Our campus must undergo some self-criticism in order to create a safe space for the discussion of race, ethnicity and class. However, it is essential for the administration to place this occurrence at Vassar in a national context in order to understand what these public symbols mean in American society.

We can connect the incident that occurred in Jewett to the events in Jena, La., a geographically distant place but a community that, like Vassar, allowed a public display of hatred and fear to appear. After all, the noose in Jewett allegedly hung, unmentioned, for at least a year. It seems the most dangerous mindset that America cuurently faces is this sense of complacency. In many campus debates, the discourse has yet to transcend the issue of “whodunit” and has failed to acknowledge the larger unspoken complacency from which our campus, as well as the entire American nation, suffers.

Recently, an event occurred in the sports world that serves as a fitting case study for this issue. I was reading a column by a truly visionary mercenary of sports writing, David Zirin. The subject was the return of the University of Illinois’s infamous mascot, Chief Illiniwek. In 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association banned the University from hosting postseason games because of its disrespectful and offensive portrayal of the Illiniwek tribe. At this point, the University decided to stop using the mascot. Chief Illiniwek’s removal represented the denouncement and end of institutional racism. It was a small step, but an important one nonetheless.

However, the mascot recently returned on a homecoming float, and the University of Illinois defended its brief reappearance as an expression of free speech. Zirin quoted an Oct. 25 letter from University of Illinois Professor of Educational Policy Studies Antonia Darder to the University Chancellor, in which she wrote: “If a float maker wants to use KKK imagery or a noose hanging from a tree on a homecoming float, is this now also acceptable under the auspices of ‘free expression’? Or if a float maker wants to use images of people copulating or nude participants on a float, would this also be accepted as the freedom of personal expression? And if not, why not? Certainly if public nudity is considered immoral or at least inappropriate, why not public racism?”

This question must be considered on a campus, national and even global level. Why are symbols of public racism, which are clearly displays intended to elicit fear, considered moral and acceptable? The Oxford English Dictionary defines “mascot” as a thing used to symbolize a particular event or organization; an emblem. If the offensive and racist mascot of the University of Illinois can exist for so long, then how is the University representing itself as an institution of public education? The re-emergence of this mascot as an ostensible expression of free speech only highlights American complacency toward racism.

These issues are dangerous because of the powerful message they carry. Sports are a huge institution in American culture. If ignorance, hatred and racism are acceptable in this institution, it shows that the American community as a whole refuses to accept accountability for its racist tendencies. As members of the Vassar community, we must also ask ourselves why we allow such blatant forms of public fear and humiliation to appear on campus.

The University of Illinois must examine itself in order to overcome its legacy of adopting a racist mascot to represent the school. In the wake of recent events, we must do the same and look within ourselves to understand our role in this violation of Vassar’s safe space. Then, and only then, will we be able to stop public displays of fear and hatred on Vassar campus and consider the appearances of the noose and the swastikas to be events of the past.