Campus should let the Chief rest in peace

It should come as no surprise that this board does not support "The Next Dance" being held this Saturday. The relevant dust settled on the pro-Chief, anti-Chief debate when the Board of Trustees voted to retire Illiniwek in Feb. 2007.

While we believe the Board's prime motivation was postseason money, the impetus was the political and cultural controversy the Chief attracted to the University and the NCAA. The decision may not have been democratic, but at the end of the day, the right decision was made. Chief Illiniwek is no longer a symbol, mascot or tradition of this school. And that won't change.

The "new" tradition Students for Chief Illiniwek looks to start will look remarkably like the old one - except for the duplicate outfit, a band other than the official Marching Illini, the varsity sports teams and the cheerleading squad. It will celebrate the Chief's past, but it will do so at the expense of the future.

Even if the event is a "success," it won't come close to reclaiming what it hopes to. While this is partly because the University is treating the event roughly as it would treat next weekend's "Winnie the Pooh: Live on Stage!" sans cease and desist letters, it's mostly because it will erase the dignity in which the tradition was retired.

Chief supporters may say this event represents rebellion, an unwillingness to refuse to take the retirement lying down, that the Chief came back in spite of everything. If you love the Chief, it'll feel good. But you won't be supporting the Chief you knew, rather a replica that truly is mocking the American Indians it pretends to honor. And sooner or later, the excitement will slowly succumb to the passage of time and graduation.

Even though a referendum opposing Illiniwek's retirement overwhelmingly passed last year, the majority of students just didn't care enough one way or another to vote. While many are still bitter about the Chief being gone, the campus has moved on. Donations weren't impacted and neither was attendance at the football or basketball games (when both were performing). Wounds are being healed, and with each new freshman class, a once-divisive issue will be forgotten. Our campus slowly becoming more inclusive is something we all can look forward to.

Instead of being allowed to leave on a high note, the organizers seem bound and determined to risk letting the symbol fade away. The anger will dissipate, the crowds will dwindle and the Chief will no longer be about tradition.

The question we pose is to those who still support the Chief. What's worse: Having only memories, or diminishing those memories with events that will eventually show just how irrelevant the Chief will become?