Westword Looks At the Latest Boone Controversy

(above) Westword takes a look at Boone
"DU doesn't have an official mascot, says university spokeswoman Jordan Ames, though the school is researching the possibility of creating one in the near future."
-DU Spokesman Jordan Ames
From: Westword

The University of Denver Pioneers have always had that fighting spirit, but over the past decade, some of that fighting has focused on the school's longtime — and now former — mascot, a bearded, coonskin-cap-wearing pioneer named Denver Boone. 

Created in 1968, the cartoon character was designed by a Walt Disney artist and served as the school's official mascot for thirty years. But in the late 1990s, some students began to complain about Boone, saying that the smiling, chubby-cheeked character was named after Daniel Boone and represented a way of life that resulted in the destruction of many Native American tribes and the deaths of thousands of people [read entire article].

3 comments:

old pio said...

I'm running low on bile. But this kerfuffle is enough to gag a gutwagon dog. NSA my ass! These campus groups are among the most easily offended people on the planet. They stay awake nights, sniffing the air for something that "offends" their delicate sensitivities. And gutless administrators cave in to their every gripe. Individuals and groups that don't toe the line are sent to the modern equivalent of communist "re-education" camps, 'till they "think right." These perpetually offended students bully their way around campus, demanding adherance to the rules they write and enforce. And why shouldn't they? They've got the administration and presumably a healthy majority of the faculty backing them. Showing respect for others should be a two way street, but not on today's campus. It's all "my way or the highway" for these PC fascists. I've mentioned before the trouble a California chapter of my fraternity got into with a Mexican-themed party, the posters for which featured artwork of a guy wearing a serape. "Oh, the humanity." It was enlightening to see the Latino chapter president, along with the many Latino brothers, dragged throughy the mud because of their "insensitivity." Somebody, somewhere needs to stand up to these PC enforcers and tell them enough is enough.

Coach said...

This weekend's matchup is interesting when you think about this issue. One college wants to ban its mascot because it/he may be a symbol of oppression versus the native Americans. The other school has abandoned its mascot because the natives would not give permission for the tribal name to be used by the athletic department. The solution may be for the schools to simply trade mascots. The Sioux protesters might be happy to have a symbol of European expansion take the place of the natives, and the DU students could celebrate a new native American mascot to take over for the nasty Boone. Then next year, we could all look forward to the games between the Denver Fighting Sioux versus the UND Pioneers. And we could all enjoy hockey again.

dggoddard said...

"DU doesn't have an official mascot, says university spokeswoman Jordan Ames, though the school is researching the possibility of creating one in the near future."

So lemme get this straight. The egghead DU administrators who brought us Ruckus and the Jelly Doughnut logo are going to take a second shot at introducing the mascot.

Now its all starting to make a lot more sense. Have the students do the dirty work and squash Boone and then introduce a new mascot.