It's time for new university mascot

To the editor:

On the Southeast Missouri State University mascot issue, I feel the university and the media have not fully explained why the mascot name is being changed. I have sat through meetings with the alumni council and booster club board. I came up with these reasons:

The Indian nations for years have been lobbying the NCAA to have universities and colleges get rid of Indian logos. At the local level the Indian name is used with dignity. When Indian teams play out of town, the Indian is ridiculed in homecoming parades and at the games. The NCAA has sent down directives to all colleges and universities to change their Indian names. About 35 have already changed their names, and more are in the process of doing so.

The Southeast administration over the years has slowly done away with the Indian and Otahkian logos. The current logo has nothing to do with the Indians and Otahkians. The only place on campus you can find the word "Indian" is on the football field and a room at the University Center. The words "Indians" and "Otahkians" are only used to refer to the athletic teams by the media and fans.

The proper thing to do is to give Chief Sagamore and Princess Otahki an elegant burial on the lawn at Houck Stadium. The time is now to move forward with a new mascot. It should be done now, not later.

BILLIE J. LEWIS

Cape Girardeau