The Day of Judgement is Nearly at Hand

There are several issues, some of which have come to quite an argumentative and heated level of debate as of the last few days, which I wish to discuss in much greater depth then I have previously in this weblog, but at the current moment I obligated against doing so, at least for the moment. All my efforts and time right now are concentrated on finishing off the school year and that is what I intend to follow through on. I need only to finish this afternoon, and possibly late this evening if necessary, on my international politics critical review paper and I will be through with educational essay assignments for the school year (with the exception of course for the English essay revision, but that is not too much of a task).

I am taking the day off on Wednesday from any at all educational activities (with the exception of course of attending classes) and I intend to use this time to catch up on a few matters that I have been forced to neglect over the past week or so due to the strain on my time these essays have created for me. This would include updating The Moose Hole website (specifically the DVD Depot and The Screening Room), posting new entries here on the weblog, reading up on the Crusades (in time for the release of Kingdom of Heaven this Friday), and taking time to relax, if only for a moment. After that I intend on using Thursday through Sunday as time at which to work non-stop writing up notes and answers corresponding to study guides and prepping for exams on Monday and Wednesday of the upcoming week.

Getting down to business (and quickly I might add), The Board of Trustees at Marquette University will meet tomorrow afternoon to decide on the fate of the “Warrior” nickname issue and, according to the e-mail message sent by Father Wild the other day, they intend “to announce a decision immediately following its meeting”.

As you are all of aware by now (or at least you should be), I am exceptionally supportive of the reinstallation of the “Warrior” nickname to the athletic teams of Marquette University and the campus reputation as a whole, but, as I have noted on several occasions, I do not have high hopes that this desire will come to fruition. I believe it was the announcement in March of this year when the board decided to discuss the issue at greater length in a meeting at the end of the year and decide the outcome of the “Warrior” debate at that time that I knew the issue was essentially dead.

Note, however, that I am not ruling out the possibility that they will agree to reinstall the “Warrior” nickname. It is just that I view particular comments made by either Father Wild in his latest e-mail message to the students of the university and the past decisions and/or actions of the Board of Trustees as writing on the wall as to the issue’s outcome.

But it was this line in particular from Father Wild’s e-mail message to the student body that stood out the most in my mind …

In either case, we must and will choose a course that does not compromise our values and respect for the dignity of all members of our human family.

From at least my perspective, this does not sound as if this bodes well for the Students for Warriors organization. Then again, the Board of Trustees will be voting on this, not Father Wild in particular, so this may mean nothing. However, I refuse to believe that Wild randomly chose this specific language out of thin air for his e-mail message to the entire student body and faculty staff addressing this particular issue.

An investigative research article conducted by GOP3.com has at least enlivened my confidence a bit, but, as Professor John McAdams noted on his weblog, this is not an absolute guarantee that this will be the way in which the Board of Trustees will vote on the issue tomorrow afternoon.

Though I would agree that the e-mail message was a well-drawn out diplomatic gesture on the part of Father Wild, two lines in particular from it were of some insult to the intelligence of the student body of this university …

The Board has spent several months deliberating on this issue, taking seriously the opinions of more than 9,000 alumni, students, faculty and staff who participated in focus group discussions and an online survey.
…

Whatever the Board’s decision, I am satisfied that people of good conscience will agree we have given this issue thoughtful study and consideration.

If anything the online survey, conducted during first semester of this school year on the university’s website, was a severe slap in the face to those who passionately cared about the outcome of this issue, whether they for the reinstallation of the Warrior nickname or not. Beside the fact that it was placed and advertised directly only on the university’s website (not everyone on campus, let alone the alumni who would prefer to have their say in this as well, uses the university’s website), the survey asked every single question possible on the issue except the one that mattered most – Which name would you prefer? Warriors or Golden Chickens … I mean, Golden Eagles? I am not claiming, however, that Father Wild is lying to the student body with these statements. I think in his heart he believe that the university, particularly the Board of Trustees, have done everything they possibly could to investigate this specific matter and are basing their decision on the most comprehensive information available to them on how the college campus as a whole would prefer to move forward on this issue. I am, on the other hand, much less confident.