[Peace] PRC: TAKE ACTION! - UI Board of Trustees Meeting

[Jen Tayabji]

TAKE ACTION!

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UI Board of Trustees Meeting
UIUC Student Union
Thursday, September 8th at 9am
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On Thursday, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees (BOT) will be
meeting at UIUC. This is the first meeting on the Urbana-Champaign
campus since August 4th, 2005, when the National Collegiate Athletic
Association's (NCAA) Executive Committee met and approved a proposal to
restrict the use of American Indian mascots, like University of
Illinois' "Chief Illiniwek," at NCAA colleges and universities. The NCAA
banned schools from displaying "hostile and abusive"
racial/ethnic/national origin mascots, nicknames or imagery at NCAA
championships starting February 1st, 2006. For more information about
the NCAA's decision, please visit
http://www.prairienet.org/prc/anti.html/Archive/ncaaaug05.html

The U of I's BOT meeting in Champaign is important because the Public
Comment Session component of their meeting is one of the few ways we can
voice our concerns to the BOT, the only group with the power to
eliminate "Chief Illiniwek." Also, the BOT will be voting on a new
resolution regarding the "Chief." Unfortunately, this resolution will
only add an eighth "guideline" to their process on addressing the issue.
The resolution,like other resolutions passed by the Board recently,
lacks any real substance in making progress on the "Chief" controversy.
You can download the resolution at
http://www.uillinois.edu/trustees/agenda/September%208,%202005/008b%20sep%20
Resolution%20Add%20Guideline.pdf

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TAKE ACTION!
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1. Join us in attending the BOT meeting and stand in solidarity with the
anti-"Chief" supporters. The meeting is Thursday beginning at 9am. It
will be held in Pine Lounge, on the 1st floor of the UIUC Student Union.

2. Email or call the BOT. Let them know that it¹s not just the NCAA who
thinks the mascot is "hostile and abusive." Call on them for substantive
dialogue and action! You can contact the Board through the BOT
Secretary, Michele Thompson, at mthompsn at uiuc.edu, (217) 333-1920, or by
mail at 352 Henry Administration Building, 506 S. Wright St., Urbana, IL
  61801. Please cc prc at prairienet.org on your emails to the Board.

3. Attend the PRC Intro Meeting on Wednesday, September 14th to find out
how you can get involved in the anti-"Chief" movement. The meeting will
begin at 7:30pm at the Illinois Disciples Foundation (NW Corner of
Springfield and Wright in Champaign). There will be free refreshments!

For more information, call the PRC at (217) 352-8721 or send an email to
prc at prairienet.org. Visit our website at www.prairienet.org/prc.

In solidarity,
The PRC