More cuddly mascots

As president and founder of the World Institute to Minimize Predation, I must express my absolute shock and dismay at the recent decision by the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents to select a hawk as mascot of the university's sports teams.

The flagrant glorification of predators in the promotion of teams by colleges and universities throughout our nation is absolutely unconscionable.

While those of us in the institute recognize the essential nature of the predator-prey relationship, we feel that an inequity exists in the depiction of so many predators as team mascots, while their prey, who suffer enough, also must suffer by neglect. Wolves, hawks, jaguars, eagles, lions, tigers and bears ... oh, my, the list seems almost endless!

More cute, cuddly little animals should be represented by college and university sports teams. After all, they don't call it the balance of nature for nothing. Where are the bunnies, the squirrels, the opossums?

We at the institute salute the University of Oregon for selecting ducks to proudly represent their teams, a move that demonstrates levels of insight and sensitivity that SEMO's regents aspired to but could not achieve.

One more thought: When considering sporting events, isn't the best offense a good defense? If so, then what could possibly be a better mascot than an armadillo or a turtle? How about the SEMO University Hermit Crabs?

Hawks, those relentless consumers of helpless little field mice, are renowned for having keen eyesight. Ironically, by choosing these creatures as SEMO's new mascots, the regents demonstrated extraordinary lack of vision.Fawn Deere

Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer

World Institute to Minimize Predation

David Crowe of Cape Girardeau offered the above parody as a demonstration of the futility that often accompanies the pursuit of political correctness.