Drizzt
Member
Minuteman faces P.C. onslaught
05/07/2003
By RON CHIMELIS
Staff writer
AMHERST - Having stood up bravely to the British more than 200 years ago, the Minuteman is finding he may be no match for 21st century political correctness and marketing savvy at the University of Massachusetts.
By September, the UMass Gray Wolves men's and women's teams may be charging onto the field, while the gun-toting, single-gender Minuteman - a UMass symbol since 1972 - is sent to the showers for good.
Not since the arrow was removed from the pilgrim's hat on the Turnpike signs has such a debate raged over how the Colonial period is being portrayed in modern Massachusetts.
"Am I for the change? I'm for the process," UMass Athletic Director Ian J. McCaw said. That process began with the hiring of Phoenix Design Works of New York City, which introduced the Gray Wolves to eight focus groups involving 85 people.
The passion of the debate has not matched the levels reached in 1972, when the Minutemen nickname replaced the ethnically controversial Redmen name.
But there's no question the discussion level is growing.
"Gray Wolves would be unique in Division I college sports, and it's indigenous to the area," McCaw said. "The design company expressed some concern with the single-gender ethnicity of the Minuteman, and the fact he's carrying a firearm (in the logo) is also a concern."
McCaw said social and practical reasons exist for change. For one thing, the women's teams are called the Minutewomen, even though no colonial Minutewomen ever actually existed.
"In 1972, UMass had 15 men's teams and two women's teams," McCaw said. "Now we have 10 men's and 12 women's teams."
McCaw said the design experts are looking into using two different Gray Wolves logos. One would reflect an aggressive, ferocious animal, suitable for the competitive sports.
The other could be a more child-friendly and marketable animal mascot, which are very popular in sports.
According to Springfield Republican outdoors writer Frank Sousa, however, the portrayal of a cuddly wolf is ridiculous.
"Wolves attack only the sick, injured and helpless," said Sousa, one of the region's foremost outdoors spokesmen.
"Besides, the last gray wolf sighting around here was in the late 1890s, in a barrel outside Thompson's Clothing Store in Amherst after being shot in Northampton," Sousa said. "And those were skinned."
At that heart of this debate is this question: How important is this, really?
"Is (a change) absolutely necessary? Probably not," said UMass lacrosse player Cyndi Doyle, who says her team generally avoids using any nickname at all. "But it's better to be (socially) ahead than behind, and I think we're behind."
Doyle thinks the debate is being waged on geographic rather than gender grounds.
"The people most connected to the Minutemen seem to be Massachusetts residents," said Doyle, of Bridgewater, Vt.
She may be right.
"I think we need something historic," said Mike Warner, a hockey player from Waltham. "And obviously, the Minutemen are part of our history."
It's not obvious to everybody, though.
"To the rest of the country, it's a joke," said football quarterback Jeff Krohn, who transferred from Arizona State in 2002. "No one identifies with it."
Dumping the Minuteman, though, doesn't sit well with one member of an organization synonymous with his history.
"I think this gender-bias stuff has gone way overboard," said Lorinda A. Luce, regent of Northampton's Betty Allen Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. "And as for the firearm issue, I support people having guns."
Phoenix Design's work is expected to cost UMass $10,000.
UMass is the nation's only college that calls its teams the Minutemen. Locally, changes have been made at Springfield College (Chiefs to Pride), Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (Mohawks to Trailblazers) and a high school, Frontier Regional in South Deerfield (Redskins to Redhawks).
The Minuteman may be the next to go.
"Nobody wants something that looks too much like the UConn Husky," Krohn said. "But whatever they pick, I'm sure some people won't like it."
http://www.masslive.com/news/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1052292610178622.xml
05/07/2003
By RON CHIMELIS
Staff writer
AMHERST - Having stood up bravely to the British more than 200 years ago, the Minuteman is finding he may be no match for 21st century political correctness and marketing savvy at the University of Massachusetts.
By September, the UMass Gray Wolves men's and women's teams may be charging onto the field, while the gun-toting, single-gender Minuteman - a UMass symbol since 1972 - is sent to the showers for good.
Not since the arrow was removed from the pilgrim's hat on the Turnpike signs has such a debate raged over how the Colonial period is being portrayed in modern Massachusetts.
"Am I for the change? I'm for the process," UMass Athletic Director Ian J. McCaw said. That process began with the hiring of Phoenix Design Works of New York City, which introduced the Gray Wolves to eight focus groups involving 85 people.
The passion of the debate has not matched the levels reached in 1972, when the Minutemen nickname replaced the ethnically controversial Redmen name.
But there's no question the discussion level is growing.
"Gray Wolves would be unique in Division I college sports, and it's indigenous to the area," McCaw said. "The design company expressed some concern with the single-gender ethnicity of the Minuteman, and the fact he's carrying a firearm (in the logo) is also a concern."
McCaw said social and practical reasons exist for change. For one thing, the women's teams are called the Minutewomen, even though no colonial Minutewomen ever actually existed.
"In 1972, UMass had 15 men's teams and two women's teams," McCaw said. "Now we have 10 men's and 12 women's teams."
McCaw said the design experts are looking into using two different Gray Wolves logos. One would reflect an aggressive, ferocious animal, suitable for the competitive sports.
The other could be a more child-friendly and marketable animal mascot, which are very popular in sports.
According to Springfield Republican outdoors writer Frank Sousa, however, the portrayal of a cuddly wolf is ridiculous.
"Wolves attack only the sick, injured and helpless," said Sousa, one of the region's foremost outdoors spokesmen.
"Besides, the last gray wolf sighting around here was in the late 1890s, in a barrel outside Thompson's Clothing Store in Amherst after being shot in Northampton," Sousa said. "And those were skinned."
At that heart of this debate is this question: How important is this, really?
"Is (a change) absolutely necessary? Probably not," said UMass lacrosse player Cyndi Doyle, who says her team generally avoids using any nickname at all. "But it's better to be (socially) ahead than behind, and I think we're behind."
Doyle thinks the debate is being waged on geographic rather than gender grounds.
"The people most connected to the Minutemen seem to be Massachusetts residents," said Doyle, of Bridgewater, Vt.
She may be right.
"I think we need something historic," said Mike Warner, a hockey player from Waltham. "And obviously, the Minutemen are part of our history."
It's not obvious to everybody, though.
"To the rest of the country, it's a joke," said football quarterback Jeff Krohn, who transferred from Arizona State in 2002. "No one identifies with it."
Dumping the Minuteman, though, doesn't sit well with one member of an organization synonymous with his history.
"I think this gender-bias stuff has gone way overboard," said Lorinda A. Luce, regent of Northampton's Betty Allen Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. "And as for the firearm issue, I support people having guns."
Phoenix Design's work is expected to cost UMass $10,000.
UMass is the nation's only college that calls its teams the Minutemen. Locally, changes have been made at Springfield College (Chiefs to Pride), Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (Mohawks to Trailblazers) and a high school, Frontier Regional in South Deerfield (Redskins to Redhawks).
The Minuteman may be the next to go.
"Nobody wants something that looks too much like the UConn Husky," Krohn said. "But whatever they pick, I'm sure some people won't like it."
http://www.masslive.com/news/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1052292610178622.xml
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