[oman]

I spend time at a shared Latino/Native American tailgate party every year along with other events and my experience is the same as dabigvi's.  My opinion is that ethinicities or races should not be used as mascots because it usually ends up being disrespectful.

When an issue like this pops up it really makes me regret not having a job that is linked to a university so I could get a take on how this generation differs from mine.

peflores comment about a joint Latino/Native American tailgate reminds me of the dangers in attributing emotional responses to groups.  The two most vivid memories regarding assumptions about me based on my race (so benign as to not be racism) both happened at Stanford.

Like many of you, I got my acceptance to Stanford from Fred Hargadon (sp) and my year (it came late).  I had already decided to go to another school, but my dad encouraged me to visit Stanford.  I had no relatives at Stanford, and so I called admissions, and they agreed to set me up with a student for a short visit.  I fly out, and they have set me up with a wonderful guy and I enjoyed staying at his dorm.  Which was Casa Zapata.

Surprising?  Not really.  But coincidental, because I am Mexican American.  The stay was great, but I have to admit, I was a bit concerned at what I felt was a bit of a preconceived notion of where I would be most comfortable.

Fast forward to arrival at Stanford, where I met my new roomates.  They were great.  And coincidentally, of the four Mexican American males who entered my dorm that year, three of them were in my room.

Ultimately, my take away from Stanford was that at least from my short stay there, there was an absolutely well-meaning and accepting view of minorities, but in the end, there was just a whiff of patronization.  (Sort of like what Kathy mentions in her comment above.)

The Latino/Native American tailgate reminds me of what a fascinating difference there is between the different poisons that each of these groups faced, and how different the historical result was for each.  But given that alums grew up at a different time, I am wondering how likely one would be willing to rock the boat at an event like this.  There is a good deal of pressure at Stanford to take the "racially sensitive position", and it stems from a good place. 

That's a long way of saying that in the blog above, the Native American stanford alum is passionate about her position, and I believe her.  As to what the collective opinions of small groups at alumni reunions and signatories to petitions say about other members of those groups -- we need to be careful of going beyond the names on the paper or the blog.

My hypothesis, based on my experience with the generation of my kids, and the increasing number of "mixed" raced kids, is that the sensitivity regarding these issues is dialed down a brobdingnagian amount from even the 70 and 80s.  That is ultimately a good thing, but it may be reflected in things that give us older crowd pause.

How much that really helps in an issue as specific and particularly unique as that of Native American mascots, I don't know.  But it probably does explain the cavalier way some people are wearing the t-shirts.

[oman]

I spend time at a shared Latino/Native American tailgate party every year along with other events and my experience is the same as dabigvi's.  My opinion is that ethinicities or races should not be used as mascots because it usually ends up being disrespectful.

When an issue like this pops up it really makes me regret not having a job that is linked to a university so I could get a take on how this generation differs from mine.

peflores comment about a joint Latino/Native American tailgate reminds me of the dangers in attributing emotional responses to groups.  The two most vivid memories regarding assumptions about me based on my race (so benign as to not be racism) both happened at Stanford.

Like many of you, I got my acceptance to Stanford from Fred Hargadon (sp) and my year (it came late).  I had already decided to go to another school, but my dad encouraged me to visit Stanford.  I had no relatives at Stanford, and so I called admissions, and they agreed to set me up with a student for a short visit.  I fly out, and they have set me up with a wonderful guy and I enjoyed staying at his dorm.  Which was Casa Zapata.

Surprising?  Not really.  But coincidental, because I am Mexican American.  The stay was great, but I have to admit, I was a bit concerned at what I felt was a bit of a preconceived notion of where I would be most comfortable.

Fast forward to arrival at Stanford, where I met my new roomates.  They were great.  And coincidentally, of the four Mexican American males who entered my dorm that year, three of them were in my room.

Ultimately, my take away from Stanford was that at least from my short stay there, there was an absolutely well-meaning and accepting view of minorities, but in the end, there was just a whiff of patronization.  (Sort of like what Kathy mentions in her comment above.)

The Latino/Native American tailgate reminds me of what a fascinating difference there is between the different poisons that each of these groups faced, and how different the historical result was for each.  But given that alums grew up at a different time, I am wondering how likely one would be willing to rock the boat at an event like this.  There is a good deal of pressure at Stanford to take the "racially sensitive position", and it stems from a good place. 

That's a long way of saying that in the blog above, the Native American stanford alum is passionate about her position, and I believe her.  As to what the collective opinions of small groups at alumni reunions and signatories to petitions say about other members of those groups -- we need to be careful of going beyond the names on the paper or the blog.

My hypothesis, based on my experience with the generation of my kids, and the increasing number of "mixed" raced kids, is that the sensitivity regarding these issues is dialed down a brobdingnagian amount from even the 70 and 80s.  That is ultimately a good thing, but it may be reflected in things that give us older crowd pause.

How much that really helps in an issue as specific and particularly unique as that of Native American mascots, I don't know.  But it probably does explain the cavalier way some people are wearing the t-shirts.