‘No other option’: Grand Forks Sen. Laffen to introduce bill aimed at retiring Fighting Sioux nickname
October 14, 2011 at 9:41 am in Grand Forks Herald
Sen. Lonnie Laffen, R-Grand Forks, who voted with the majority in March when the North Dakota Senate passed the Fighting Sioux nickname bill, will introduce a measure in the November special legislative session to assign authority over the controversial issue to the State Board of Higher Education. “It would be to allow the state board to do what they wish, retire the name,” Laffen said. Continue Reading
Amend an unconstitutional law to transfer the decision to the constitutionally-authorized board that has final say anyway? Your tax dollars at work!
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Essentially. The new law might actually follow the law.
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Good for Senator Laffen. Here’s hoping for many common sense members of the legislature.
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freedomfighter:
1) Go back and read the constitution, what Carlson did was unconstitutional. If we had an AG that would have worried less about getting voted back in and more about following the law he would have stepped in and put a halt to it. Was he trying to do the right thing? yes because I believe the majority do want the nickname, but that doesn’t mean you can bring a bill in when it is unconstitutional.
2) Are you a lawyer? How much more of our tax dollars should be spent on this? I don’t want mine spent on this issue. The lawsuit wasn’t/isn’t going to change the outcome.
3) fight no matter what the cost? Seriously? I am a doctoral student at UND. Are you a student there? Just because you believe it is right doesn’t mean others do. When UND is completely dismantled, the athletic programs are crap, and donor money is gone….will that be cost enough for you? This is bigger than just about the hockey team. UND needs to compete academically as well.
As I have said numerous times on here. I love the name. It is UND. I realize that many of us don’t want this name to go away but the facts are undisputable. If we don’t move on, the university is at risk (academics and athletics). If we don’t move on, more of ND taxpayers dollars will be used.
This has gotten further than just a group of minority students or a group of politically correct people. The right thing right now is to retire the name and move forward to save this university. Doesn’t mean the name won’t come back at some point in time, but right now this is the correct decision.
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UND cant sue the NCAA even though its the second half of the law. UND already sued and the issue was settled. This is more about the Standing Rock Council agreeing that the name is hostile and abusive than any “white man”. They had three years to support the name and their fellows at Spirit Lake. The current state of affairs falls cleanly at the foot of the Standing Rock Council and no one else.
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Spirit Lake Sioux say to the NCAA:
“Who are you to portray our name in ANY context as profane? It’s not the nickname that is hurting UND. Rather, it’s your factually unsupported and racist policy and your stubbornness to stick by it irrespective of what the Native Americans — the people it was designed to protect — want. It is your policy and sanctions that are holding the student athlete hostage while you pursue eradication of our proud name from the athletic field.”
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Normally, as I’m sure people (including you) can tell, I don’t really agree with the things you write. But this one I do agree with 100%.
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Standing Rock has had plenty of time to change its stance on the Fighting Sioux issue. While there has been no actual vote on the name, Archie Fool Bear, a strong proponent of UND keeping the nickname, did not make the cut in a recent reservation vote. http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/218284/
He was not in the top two of six who were running for an at-large position on the tribal council. I think that says a lot about the importance the Sioux at Standing Rock place upon UND retaining the nickname. It is past time to move on.
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They’re not any more inane than the stuff that you throw out.
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Supporters of the name have been claiming for many months that the majority of North Dakotans agree with them. We have been asking for any evidence in support of such a notion and have received no answer at all. A simple poll, conducted any time during 2011 would do nicely. Maybe it is time to admit that maybe the people at Standing Rock, as well as the citizens of the state, might not actually be on your side.
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I honestly wonder if this thing will EVER be over with!
Every time it seems to be laid to rest, someone, somewhere always manages to stir the pot one more time, bringing out all the remaining hard-core ‘athletic supporters’.
And it’s plain that they’ve been giggling thier collective ass off.
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Honestly if people want the university to take them seriously about keeping the name maybe everybody should just not go to a game or two . IE operation Fighting Sioux. When they have no ticket sales and an empty arena maybe than Robert Kelly will understand what the name means to the area residents.
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The Native Americans will never get the chance to vote or speak their minds, as long as this state is full of racist, hillbilly rednecks.
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