Comments about ‘U. mascot, policies protested’

Replace the drum and feather logo with a protestor holding up a sign. That is a much more positive image.

It's unbelievable that this kind of crass racism is still taking place in America. The students of the U should be ashamed of themselves.

We need another March on Washington to make sure that these peoples rights to not be offended are upheld. Afterwards, we can take in Redskins game before returning to our homes.

How about change the mascot to a pioneer. That would reflect the Utah heritage more than selectively honoring the Ute tribe with the recognition of carrying the schools name. If they don't want the honor, give it to a group that would see it as one.

My people are tired of our heritage being used as a symbol for sports. Would lawmakers in this state stand for a mormon themed mascot? What about a mascot that poked fun at the gay and lesbian people? Would we allow a team that offended African Americans? Absolutley not. I realize that back in the day this was the norm, but we are now better educated and more informed and we must stop the practice of using others heritage as a symbol for a sports team. Sorry, but the Utes are a people, not a mascot. UofU is going to have to come up with something different.

I belong to a reconciliation community group, and I work with a couple of reservations in my state. And I attended the U for a couple of years long ago.

I do not find the Ute logo to be racist. I am proud of the Ute Indian heritage. The U does a lot to make the lives better of all citizens in the state and they should keep the logo and be the Utes.

Any university, and community, can always do better. The U will continue to do that.

Go Utes!

As a former graduate who spent 8 total years at the U, I never saw any of the perceived racism described. I agree that representing the Ute tribe should be done with respect. I consider myself a Ute (from a college standpoint), and don't see it as representing athletics. As long as the U continues to be a great college, it should be seen as complimentary, not racist.

As an outside observer, I have always thought that the Ute nation was the beneficiary of the logo and name. I have never seen it as a negative and know others around the country who are aware of the Ute Indians only because of a university which in their opinion presents a positive image of the tribe. I have never met anyone who thought that the image or mascot was disrespectful of anyone. Granted, I am not a Ute but I am Irish and am more than a little proud of Notre Dame which presents my heratige as a leprechaun. Perhaps I should be offended even though I don't feel that way

Yo, Bryan: The Red Tailed Hawk is the University's mascot. Utah is derived from the Ute name.

It's amusing to me that the U of U insists that any deal with Dixie College would require Dixie to change its name and mascot.

Does the University of Utah promote "Tourism" for the Ute Tribes (Northern Ute, Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute)? Why not? The U should help increase funding in other ways to the 3 UTE NATIONS. The only school in the State of Utah to be closed down because of the No Child Left Behind Act is located on Northern Ute tribal lands but the State of Utah padded other school scores to prevent their closures. Why did this happen? The UTE nickname is a registered TRADEMARK which means the UTE name is generating MILLIONS of DOLLARS for the Athletic department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, the Mountain West Conference and the 40 listed businesses that have applied thru the Universities Trademark and Licensing Office. Why not set aside some of this MONEY to directly benefit the UTE PEOPLE? The University supports at least 20 INTERNATIONAL student-athletes with our Mandatory student tuition fees per semester and over 60 OUT-OF-STATE student-athletes as well. Lets Talk about RACE-BASED scholarships via the athletic department now! 100 percent of these student-athletes are not from the UTE TRIBES. Thats 100 percent discrimination. What about the US Army ROTCs Ute Warrior Battalion-who benefits?

At the U, I have personally witnessed and read about numerous incidents where racist depictions are used by "fans" of opposing sports teams as part of the "rivalry" or in the name of "competition." How many people are expendible in order to maintain a "tradition" that began in an era when signs hung over store entryways saying "No dogs or Indians allowed"? Enough is enough!

I think that reasonable people can have differing opinions about whether or not racism exists within any institution; reasonable people, however, cannot study one thing and simultaneously discount it in others.

On his faculty page, Professor Vilapando states that his "scholarship...analyze[s] how inequality in U.S. higher education shapes the educational outcomes and experiences of historically underrepresented students and faculty", but he says that these students' experiences "are completely absurd." There is a problem here between what this man writes about and how he engages the world. It's very sad.

He later says that the students' claims of racism are "unsubstantiated when compared to university data." The University of Utah should release these data and they should come clean about how they just spent $100,000 on the AIRC to then abuse its first Director in a decade. Once again, reality does not match the rhetoric coming from this man. It's just so sad.

Hey Octavio Vilapando, since everything is fine and dandy up there and discrimination doesn't exist. Does this mean you'll step down as "Vice President of Diversity" since I guess there really isn't a need.

But then again the University needs a sellout uncle tom they can turn to and keep the status quo going. Your doing a Great job!!!

Hey Octavio Vilapando since there is no problems with diversity and discrimination up there at the U, does this mean you will step down as "vice pres. of diversity" since there really is no need for your position anymore.

On second thought however the University needs a convient 'yes man' who doesn't mind selling out.
Keep up the good work!

Hey Natives! Discrimination has all been in our minds all along. The colonization, loss of land, and rights, its all mental! And using an Indian Mascot doesn't "deform" or "stereotype" us. Just ask Octavio Vilapando, he is not Native, but I am sure he has read a book about us and knows all about our experiences. Plus he has a Phd. His disertation I think was on institutional discrimination, "Nothing to see here, keep on moving."

How about a new mascot with a short haircut, dark suit with a white shirt and tie, holding a sign that says "utah; love it or leave it"!

Thanks for everyone who came out to support our march yesterday. It was great to see that there are some people who care enough to learn and understand the issues as opposed to just offering their ignorant and ridiculous opinions. I think when people are on the outside looking in, they should refrain from making comments about something for which they have no idea. Octavio is a liar. He is trying to make himself look good. Check the facts everyone. Educate yourself about the issues. Telling another group of people that they should be honored by images and a name is very racist. Who are you to tell someone else what they should be honored by. Hey Irish dude...do you look like a leprechaun? Do you even know the history of 'your' people? How does it feel to have your people conquered, raped, enslaved and killed by the English? Natives and Irish actually share similar histories to an extent but I would never tell you that you should or should not be offended.

What about people who have a Viking as their mascot, don't scandanavian countries get upset?

What about the knights, I am sure there is a group of people who were historically abused by knights.

Basically, no matter what you choose as a mascot, there will be somebody to take offense.

The U's use of the Ute is only being looked at in a negative way. What they are forgetting is that in a sporting setting, the Ute represents a brave warrior who is going out to defeat their enemies.

Did you know Octavio sued a university in California for racism for millions? How ironic.

Octavio...how have you alleviated Native concerns? I guess if you remove all the Natives on campus, there will be no more concerns???? Is that the way it is done? You should definitely publish that research. I, myself, am doing a piece on little man syndrome and the challenges of overcoming such a plight. Destroying educational opportunities for one of the most oppressed groups in history will really add to my thesis. I am inspired.

If Villalpando is going to discount the claims of the students he was hired to represent and advocate for, he needs to be specific about the institutional data that would discount their claims. If people perceive there has been unequal treatment of certain groups, then administrators cant claim anything to the contrary without providing concrete evidence. The students at the protest yesterday had concrete examples supporting their points. All you had to do was ask any person marchingthey could quickly explain their points or direct you to someone else for more information. These protestors were not clueless. On the other hand, I am disheartened to see the University officials were not able to support their claims with the kind of precision and accuracy their students were able to offer.