Early News on the Marquette Nickname Vote

Well, here goes nothing. The first round of voting for the new Marquette University athletic nickname has been completed as of midnight last evening and while we eagerly await the results, Professor John McAdams has some early word on the results …

From a source at Advantage Research: as of yesterday, over 35,000 people had voted in the Marquette nickname poll.

Asked how many people had written in “Warriors” the source simply said “a lot of them.” Apparently, a lot of people have expressed resentment at having to write in “Warriors,” feeling it should have been on the ballot.

McAdams was also able to obtain a comment from the Assistant Director of University Communication on the issue of the write-in ‘Warriors’ votes, albeit a dubious response …

According to Brigid O’Brien, Associate Director of University Communication, no decision has been made on whether to release data on the number of “Warriors” write-in votes.

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An e-mail will go out tomorrow morning announcing the results of the first round of voting. This will be virtually simultaneous with the beginning of the second round of voting.

Somehow I have deep reservations that the Wild Administration at Marquette University and their rubber stamp, also known as the Board of Trustees, will risk another campus revolt by releasing the number of write-in votes the ‘Warriors’ nickname received in the first round of voting. Personally they would desire nothing more then to have the entire ‘Warrior’ issue and its advocates to go away as quickly and quietly as possible. Following the ‘Gold’ debacle last month their best policy option to shut up about and pretend it never existed. Unfortunately for them, we are more determined and adamant about the ‘Warriors’ nickname then they would like to believe we are. And even when a decision on the new nickname is reached, we will continue the fight until the voices of students and alumni are at last heard.

Meanwhile, the Marquette University College Republicans have posted the results of their straw poll survey …

What should Marquette’s new nickname be? (We all know it should be Warriors)

Blue and Gold 2.27% (2)
Explorers 9.09% (8)
Golden Avalanche 14.77% (13)
Golden Eagles 28.41% (25)
Golden Knights 3.41% (3)
Hilltoppers 34.09% (30)
Saints 2.27% (2)
Spirit 1.14% (1)
Voyagers 3.41% (3)
Wolves 1.14% (1)

I have to say that I am quite disappointed by the results, both for Golden Knights receiving so few votes and, more distressingly, for so many students being gullible enough to have chosen ‘Hilltoppers’ as oppose to anything else. Those choosing ‘Hilltoppers’ as the next athletic nickname advocate that it represents tradition within the university’s history but beyond that, what does it mean? Sure, when the university was first built it made sense since we were on top of a hill (a real stretch of the imagination, huh?) but with the hill no longer in existence, the nickname no longer makes any sense. What is the point of tradition if it doesn’t mean anything?

And on one last note, conservative radio talk-show host Mark Belling has released the results of his nickname election with the inclusion of the ‘Warriors’ option. Quite frankly this isn’t surprising, at least from the perspective of students and alumni of the university …

Warriors - 2,680
Blue and Gold - 7
Explorers - 25
Golden Avalanche – 25
Golden Eagles – 48
Golden Knights – 26
Hilltoppers – 35
Saints – 7
Spirit – 26
Voyagers – 10
Wolves – 6