1st Amendment resurrects Chief Illiniwek - but PC crowd demands censorship
Though hardly a friend of the beloved mascot, U of I Chancellor Richard Herman nonetheless felt compelled to do the right thing: when a group of students and alums wanted to (unofficially) feature Chief Illiniwek on a parade float, the Chancellor refused to forbid it. Now he’s taking heat from media and other elites who value “political correctness” above free speech.
According to Sports Illustrated online, attempts were made to ban any display of the Chief on the floats. But “Illinois chancellor Richard Herman declared that the Homecoming ban violated the U.S. constitution saying, ‘The University values free speech and free expression and considers Homecoming floats, decorations, costumes and related signage all representations of such personal expression.’”
This was in accordance with the overwhelming majority of U of I students and alums. As SI further notes, “The Chief was certainly celebrated at Homecoming. No counter protestors were reported and thousands of attendees wore Chief regalia.”
But what do media and academic elites care about such silly concepts as free speech and majority rule? SI flatly declared that “there is nothing honorable about resurrecting the Chief.” And U of I Professor Antonia Darder trotted out the usual “racist” bugbears: “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?’”
Kudos to the brave Chancellor for his principled stand, which is becoming ever rarer. Much more common in academia these days is Professor Darder’s reasoning that anything contrary to the dictates of PC is the equivalent of extreme racism-and that free speech should be sacrificed to combat both the latter and the former. Free speech has already ceased to exist in Europe and Canada-and there are plenty of those in very influential positions who are working tirelessly to eliminate it here, too!