zion3d
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2019
- Messages
- 647
The whole situation has been handle so poorly by those in leadership that both the athletes and the university have sufferer a black eye from to the eyes controversy and we are no closer to seeing this issue solved than when the group of athletes first made their demands to the administration due to their feelings that there is racial injustice at UT. This is what I pulled from an article that outlines their requests, demands, or whatever you believe them to be.
1. Donating 0.5% of the department's annual earnings to the Black Lives Matter movement and black organizations.
2. Establishing a permanent black athletic history exhibit in the Athletics Hall of Fame and renaming parts of the football stadium after Julius Whittier, the first black football letterman at UT-Austin.
3. Have UT officials to rename campus buildings named after Texans who were proponents of segregation or held other racist views.
4. Remove a statue of prominent segregationist James Hogg and discontinue the school song, “The Eyes of Texas,” which has ties to minstrel shows and was created during segregation.
5. Display a module on the history of racism at UT.
6. Increasing outreach efforts to inner-city schools in Austin, Dallas and Houston.
There are none of us, I would hope, that would deny that there has been racist mistreatment of the black population since the inception of this country. That is something obvious to all. Yet, we cannot say here in the year of our Lord 2020 that it is as pervasive as it once was. I have no doubt that some of these athletes have suffered some type of prejudice in their short time on this earth. That being stated first and foremost they seem to have a grievance against the very institution that they pledged their football careers and education to. If they truly felt that this university was so terrible I don't understand why they would have agreed to attend it in the first place. Possibly they did not realize this until they arrived on campus. Maybe some knew but didn't care. The truth is I have no clue and will not attribute any bad intentions on anyone's part. But Austin we do have a problem.
The administration heard their demands and gave them some of what they asked for. What the administration failed to do was to ask them to give something back. In this case it should have been The Eyes of Texas still being played, sung, and respected with no requirement for the hook em' sign or singing the song. It should have been made clear that the origins do not define what it truly means to the fans that support it. We see it as a song of unity from fan, to athlete, to university. It is sung with the pride of being a Texan which includes all races, genders, and creeds. Hartzell and CDC should have asked them for this compromise. Now they are trying to unscramble the egg.
I cannot see a way forward in this situation. The admin will either have to stick to their guns and risk losing athletes and recruits or give in and lose The Eyes and a lot of fans. There is no way to please everyone.
I this juncture I think that the team is split in half. I wonder if in my desire to see this whole thing end a crazy idea might be possible. Please, I am being honest here and don't need to be berated for the suggestion. Could there be a compromise that says the black athletes will stand for The Eyes but don't have to sign or sing and in return the white athletes will stand and don't have to sign or sing for the black national anthem?
1. Donating 0.5% of the department's annual earnings to the Black Lives Matter movement and black organizations.
2. Establishing a permanent black athletic history exhibit in the Athletics Hall of Fame and renaming parts of the football stadium after Julius Whittier, the first black football letterman at UT-Austin.
3. Have UT officials to rename campus buildings named after Texans who were proponents of segregation or held other racist views.
4. Remove a statue of prominent segregationist James Hogg and discontinue the school song, “The Eyes of Texas,” which has ties to minstrel shows and was created during segregation.
5. Display a module on the history of racism at UT.
6. Increasing outreach efforts to inner-city schools in Austin, Dallas and Houston.
There are none of us, I would hope, that would deny that there has been racist mistreatment of the black population since the inception of this country. That is something obvious to all. Yet, we cannot say here in the year of our Lord 2020 that it is as pervasive as it once was. I have no doubt that some of these athletes have suffered some type of prejudice in their short time on this earth. That being stated first and foremost they seem to have a grievance against the very institution that they pledged their football careers and education to. If they truly felt that this university was so terrible I don't understand why they would have agreed to attend it in the first place. Possibly they did not realize this until they arrived on campus. Maybe some knew but didn't care. The truth is I have no clue and will not attribute any bad intentions on anyone's part. But Austin we do have a problem.
The administration heard their demands and gave them some of what they asked for. What the administration failed to do was to ask them to give something back. In this case it should have been The Eyes of Texas still being played, sung, and respected with no requirement for the hook em' sign or singing the song. It should have been made clear that the origins do not define what it truly means to the fans that support it. We see it as a song of unity from fan, to athlete, to university. It is sung with the pride of being a Texan which includes all races, genders, and creeds. Hartzell and CDC should have asked them for this compromise. Now they are trying to unscramble the egg.
I cannot see a way forward in this situation. The admin will either have to stick to their guns and risk losing athletes and recruits or give in and lose The Eyes and a lot of fans. There is no way to please everyone.
I this juncture I think that the team is split in half. I wonder if in my desire to see this whole thing end a crazy idea might be possible. Please, I am being honest here and don't need to be berated for the suggestion. Could there be a compromise that says the black athletes will stand for The Eyes but don't have to sign or sing and in return the white athletes will stand and don't have to sign or sing for the black national anthem?
