I may have to hop off the bandwagon http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1056957,00.html GREELEY -- Solomon Little Owl blamed The Man. Specifically, Little Owl blamed the caricatured white man on his T-shirt for his team's loss Thursday night. "Unfortunately, our mascot failed us," joked Little Owl, director of Native American Student Services at the University of Northern Colorado. Little Owl's Fightin' Whites -- an intramural basketball team at UNC -- lost 56-33 in the first round of a B-League tournament at the college's recreation center. About 60 people watched the game. Various print and electronic media personnel accounted for more than a third of the crowd. But the Fightin' Whites did draw unconditional support. A group of students sat at one end of the bleachers, beating drums and chanting, "Here we go, Whites, here we go," even as the Pie Guys cruised to victory. "I just brought my drums to make noise, and I came to support the Whites," said Nichole Bonner, a 32-year-old black woman working on a double major in Africana studies and psychology. The game was a quintessential intramural contest. Players heaved airballs, missed layups and dribbled the basketball off sneakers, knees and thighs. Late in the second half, tempers flared, one player shoved another. They immediately shook hands and forgot the incident. Several students in the crowd admitted they showed up to satisfy curiosity. "We were talking about this in class (Thursday), and it got into a heated discussion," said Pam Spiczka, a 21-year-old white woman majoring in psychology. "Personally, I think it's silly. I think it's an issue, but I don't think the way Eaton High School portrays its mascot is derogatory." The Fightin' Whites chose their name -- and the caricatured Caucasian male mascot -- to make a point about Eaton High School and other schools that use ethnic caricatures for mascots. Eaton, a local high school, is the home of the Fightin' Reds, a mascot personified by a caricatured Native American. But despite local, national and international media attention in the weeks since UNC's student newspaper first published a story about the Fightin' Whites, Eaton has not changed its team name and has said it does not intend to do so. Little Owl said he is seeing progress, nonetheless. He believes it's a direct result of his team's unique protest. The UNC faculty senate approved a motion Monday that encourages the school to stop competing with schools that use ethnic caricatures as mascots. The University of North Dakota -- home of the Fighting Sioux -- is the only school in UNC's conference to fit the bill. UNC's athletic director said Wednesday that the school has contractual obligations with conference opponents and won't consider changing the competition schedule. Little Owl said students at the University of North Dakota are organizing a protest to eliminate the Fighting Sioux nickname. And shortly after his Fightin' Whites were trampled, thus ending their basketball season, Little Owl said his message won't change. He said team mascots are only a small piece of a much bigger problem. "Education needs to be established," he said. "The education system hasn't changed in who knows how long. Students need to be taught the real American history, not just from the Constitution on."
