It’s just not worth fighting for anymore
Written by Adam Sprengeler Tuesday, 02 February 2010 08:00
There are many things in life that are worth fighting an uphill battle for. Standing up for what you think is right, fighting off oppression or making someone’s voice heard are all prime examples of fighting the good fight.
But there are times when we must realize when to pick and choose our battles. In the case for the school up north, it’s time to lay down their arms and give up the Fighting Sioux nickname.
You may not agree with me, and I personally don’t want to see the nickname changed, but this bad publicity and lack of support from the NCAA is setting UND’s athletic programs back 10 years.
For years now this feud has gone on between parts of the Lakota Nation and the University. Little headway has been made in regards to keeping the nickname.
I’m a firm believer that had Ralph Engelstad not put major pressure on the University during the construction of his beautiful Ralph Engelstad Arena, the nickname would have been changed years ago. There simply appears to be no way of pleasing the disgruntled Native American nations.
Most recently, the State Board of Higher Education voted to push the deadline for approval or denial of the nickname back even further, thus dragging out this controversy even longer.
At least one student I talked to at UND feels this has gone on long enough.
“I think a majority of the students at UND are just sick and tired of this whole thing dragging on,” junior Dan Appel said. “A good number don’t even understand what is actually happening anymore.”
This not only looks bad on the university, but as stated before, it is hurting all UND athletics (except for hockey, it seems). Because of NCAA pressure, few major universities will schedule UND and the Sioux are currently stuck in Division I independent limbo. A position the Bison wanted to get out of quickly and did so successfully.
The Summit League has already accepted the University of South Dakota into the conference. This is basically a giant invite to UND saying, “get your nickname situation figured out and you’re in.”
There is much tradition with the Sioux nickname, but even the athletes don’t seem to care anymore. After speaking with some of them, who wished to remain anonymous, the popular belief is that this battle is causing more harm than good.
As much as I dislike UND, they do an excellent job of trying to show their respect for Native American culture. It makes me upset to see this team do their best to accommodate but get no help in return.
“If they’re going to change the name, I wish they would just do it and get it over with,” Appel said.
It would be weird to talk about UND without mentioning the Sioux, but the president and other officials have to think in the best interest of the school.
