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War Chant has been retired
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<blockquote data-quote="Illiini" data-source="post: 1326860" data-attributes="member: 625513"><p>University of Illinois students called themselves "Illini" well back into the early days of the school. For example, the original name for the student paper, starting in 1871, was <em>The Student</em>. the first University of Illinois student publication. It was renamed <em>Daily Illini</em> in 1874. </p><p></p><p>The sports teams were generally known as the "U of I football team," though when, I think it was about 1910, the sports writer for the DI could say "our Indians" and his readers know that he was talking about the U of I football team. Students were calling themselves "Illini" before the turn of the century.</p><p></p><p>The misconception that "Fighting Illini" refers to WW I soldiers comes from that fact that the sports teams gained "Fighting" as part of their name. It was "Illini" before the war, and "Fighting Illini" after the war. Already the American Indian/Native American imagery was so ingrained in the university psyche that when fund raising for Memorial Stadium, the profile of an Indian chief was used, this in the early '20s. </p><p></p><p>It is what it is, and you either defend it for what it is, work to make it acceptable to everyone (other than those who are steadfastly against anything), or you give it up.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Illiini, post: 1326860, member: 625513"] University of Illinois students called themselves "Illini" well back into the early days of the school. For example, the original name for the student paper, starting in 1871, was [I]The Student[/I]. the first University of Illinois student publication. It was renamed [I]Daily Illini[/I] in 1874. The sports teams were generally known as the "U of I football team," though when, I think it was about 1910, the sports writer for the DI could say "our Indians" and his readers know that he was talking about the U of I football team. Students were calling themselves "Illini" before the turn of the century. The misconception that "Fighting Illini" refers to WW I soldiers comes from that fact that the sports teams gained "Fighting" as part of their name. It was "Illini" before the war, and "Fighting Illini" after the war. Already the American Indian/Native American imagery was so ingrained in the university psyche that when fund raising for Memorial Stadium, the profile of an Indian chief was used, this in the early '20s. It is what it is, and you either defend it for what it is, work to make it acceptable to everyone (other than those who are steadfastly against anything), or you give it up. [/QUOTE]
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War Chant has been retired
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