Friday’s column from CBS Chicago …
(CBS) Is Chief Illiniwek a moot point?
Well, despite more than 12,000 students turning out this week to vote on a referendum about the former University of Illinois symbol, the school seems to be trying to turn their opinions about the Chief into one.
Thanks to something called “Moot Court”.
This past Tuesday and Wednesday, the University of Illinois held its 2013 Campus Student Elections. The ballot included a question asking students if they support Chief Illiniwek as the school’s official symbol.
That referendum about the Chief was a counter initiative organized by Illinois students Josh Good and Matt Paarlberg in response to an online campaign by the student group Campus Spirit Revival (CSR), which in January asked students to vote for a new school mascot intended to succeed Illiniwek.
Under NCAA duress, Chief Illiniwek was retired as the school’s official symbol by university administration in March 2007.
The purpose of Good’s and Paarlberg ’s referendum, billed as “Chief or Nothing,” was not to push for the return of Illiniwek, but rather to demand that he not be replaced by a mascot that very few students or alumni want.
Continue reading at CBSChicago.com …