Marquette Gold
Thomas C. Reeves, The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute

[Editor's Note: This entry also appears HERE on the History News Network.]

I recently asked a veteran Marquette University professor to explain the popularity of his campus. The admissions office was packed with applications despite the fact that it costs up to $35,000 a year to attend the Catholic university. He replied, "The President says it all has to do with the success of the basketball team." In light of a recent uproar at Marquette, that explanation seems perfect.

In 1993, bowing to the pressures of political correctness and the complaints of local Native American leaders, the President of Marquette jettisoned the nickname of the basketball team. "The Warriors," it seems, was offensive. Of course, the nickname, to a normal person, was entirely positive: the word "warrior" connotes bravery, strength, and skill in battle. For many years Marquette students had proudly displayed all sorts of warrior banners, sweatshirts, and the like, identifying with the team and its nickname. But, no, it had to be changed to Golden Eagles. That was okay, apparently, because birds can't whine. There was a lot of grumbling among alumni, but in time it subsided.

In early May, 2005, the President, now Father Robert A. Wild, and the Board of Trustees suddenly changed "Golden Eagles" to "Gold." Who knew why? The backlash was immediate and furious. Students began to rebel and alumni threatened to stop all donations. The local newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, began running front page stories on the issue, making it seem more important than the War on Terror, all recent city murders, and Hillary's new "moderate" pose combined. Wild held his ground, saying that the issue was closed, and the school began staging focus groups to build interest in the new nickname. But after a full week of mounting complaints, Wild and the Board caved in. Yet a third nickname was now to be selected-by vote of alumni, students, and employees. Democracy triumphed and tempers abated.

The Journal-Sentinel, in a huge front page story, mocked the campus for its "14-karat fiasco" and said it was now wiping egg off its face. Voting for a new nickname will occur online. All choices for Warriors will be thrown out. A Journal-Sentinel editorial declared solemnly, "MU vouchsafes to hold dear respect for human dignity -- a principle the use of Warriors would violate. So that name can't be an option."

The utter silliness and superficiality on display in this tussle over campus jocks and the need to identify with them tells us much about the focus of higher education these days, not only at Marquette (which has invited Cokie Roberts to deliver the graduation address this year and had a leftist television star dedicate its new library) but throughout the United States. If 2 percent of the time, money, and energy spent on campus athletics were devoted to serious thought about what a solid education should be, the public's literacy rate might leap, and something deeper than the pursuit of cash, noxious music, liquor, and free sex might prove appealing to the nation's more intelligent young people.

But don't expect such a radical suggestion to bear fruit in the near future. Today's educational Establishment is committed to giving students merely what they want, from free condoms and fast food to majors in Sports Management and Sports Broadcasting. Can anyone name a thoughtful and courageous university administrator? If you could, he would most certainly earn less than the basketball coach.

NAS3:08 PM