Eugenio's Blog!

As many of my readers probably know, the University of Illinois has an American Indian mascot, Chief Illiniwek, of which I am firmly against.

This weekend, I visited another university with an arguably similar situation, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . . . I can hear the boos and hisses from Illinois fans.

On my walking tour of UNC, I saw Silent Sam, a confederate war memorial on the north side of the main quadrangle. As legend has it, Silent Sam is protecting the campus from another Yankee invasion should one occur. As Michelle Tanner might say, "See, he's doing a good job."

The North Carolina Chapter of the NAACP has called for the University to knock down the Silent Sam monument arguing it depicts the University’s racist attitude. According to its supporters, however, Silent Sam is a memorial to the 321 University student-soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War as well as to all of the student-soldiers who joined the Confederate Army. Close to Silent Sam sits another memorial, a dedication to the people of color workers who built and maintained the University for 200 years.

For me right now, the Silent Sam controversy is much stickier than the Chief Illiniwek issue. The memorial is part of the school’s history, but the history is inherently racist. For example, Saunders Hall on campus is named in honor of William L. Saunders, leader of the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan. In addition, the University of North Carolina did not start admitting black students until 1955.

Although there are similarities between Silent Sam and Chief Illiniwek, I still haven’t been able to fully develop an opinion about Silent Sam, or Confederate statues in general. I think I’m still in this history-fascination mode where my historical perception blinds my sociological reaction. Hopefully this historical excitement will die down before I leave for the Midwest so I can develop a balanced opinion about Confederate memorabilia and icons.

Thank goodness I have another five weeks in North Carolina.

I welcome comments from Silent Sam supporters and opponents, and everyone in between. Supporters of Chief Illiniwek need not leave comments.