Free Republic

After reading my rather apocalyptic article "From Civil War to Civil Unions," fellow Domer and former head of Illinois Right to Life, John Ryan, whole-heartedly agreed with my gloomy assessment, but then asked, just "Where does Notre Dame stand in relation to this looming civil war?" Specifically, Ryan wondered what the response of orthodox regular and subway alumni should be if Obama won the presidency and ND President, Fr. John Jenkins, extended the university's traditional invitation to the new commander-in-chief to be the keynote speaker at the school's upcoming commencement. While I definitely agree with Ryan that just as in...

The Gamma Phi Beta sorority at University of North Dakota has been put on temporary social probation while the university investigates complaints stemming from a November party during which sorority members and their guests donned mock Indian garb and red face and body paint. The temporary probation was issued by both the UND Dean of Student’s Office, which will investigate the complaints, and by the Gamma Phi Beta International office in Centennial, Colo. The probation means Gamma Phi won’t be allowed to host or participate in social activities with other sororities and fraternities or other student groups, either on...

A T-shirt produced by a North Dakota business at tempting to poke fun at the UND Fighting Sioux logo con troversy has inflamed ten sions on an already sensitive issue. The shirt, which James town, N.D.-based Orriginals Inc. began printing about a week ago, includes the words: "No Sioux Logo No Sioux Ca sinos!" It also features UND's Indian head logo with the words: "Hostile and Abusive," and plots out the location of three casinos in North Dakota and South Dakota, which it describes as "Destructive and Addictive."

Imagine being a fan of a football team known as the Flickertails -- named for a small, wide-eyed ground squirrel. That's what the University of North Dakota sports teams were called back in the 1920s. "It must have been hard to rally people around the Flickertails," says Peter Johnson, UND's associate director of university relations. UND's archrival was the North Dakota State University Bison. A bison, of course, is a hulking creature that can squash a ground squirrel in one step. In 1930, UND adopted a more formidable name -- the Sioux -- and its teams later became the Fighting...

A district judge has granted a preliminary injunction to stop the NCAA from banning the University of North Dakota from hosting a postseason game because of its "Fighting Sioux" nickname, state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said. Stenehjem said judge Lawrence Jahnke alerted him to the decision Saturday night. Stenehjem did not know the details. UND is among a handful of schools with American Indian nicknames and logos that the NCAA considers hostile and abusive. Those schools are barred from holding postseason tournaments, or from using their nicknames during road playoff games. Stenehjem, in asking for the injunction, said the ban...

Stung by the NCAA allegation that its 'Fighting Sioux' nickname is disrespectful, University of North Dakota wants to sue. GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- In their showdown over the use of an American Indian nickname and logo, the NCAA leads its series with the University of North Dakota 3-0. But the Fighting Sioux are still fighting. Trounced last year by an NCAA mandate to change its 80-year-old Fighting Sioux nickname or lose some post-season rights, then rebuffed twice on appeals, the university now wants to take the battle of wills into federal court. A defiant UND President Charles Kupcella will confer...

Williston, N.D. -- North Dakota's Board of Higher Education has decided to sue the NCAA for penalizing the University of North Dakota's use of its "Fighting Sioux" nickname and Indian head logo. Following a 90-minute, closed meeting with Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, the board voted 8-0 Thursday to authorize the lawsuit. Its motion specifies that the lawsuit be financed by privately raised funds rather than taxpayer money. The NCAA has concluded that the Fighting Sioux nickname and Indian head logo are hostile and abusive to American Indians. UND may not use them during NCAA postseason tournaments, and it may not...

June 7, 2006National Collegiate Athletic Association c/o Myles Brand and Bernard Franklin 1802 Alonzo Watford Sr. Drive P.O. Box 6222 Indianapolis, Indiana 46202Dear All,I have chosen to communicate with you in this way for several reasons. Since you have had what you say is the “final� word on the issue of our nickname and logo, we must now consider legal action. I want you, as well as University of North Dakota stakeholders and the general public, to know why we must. The NCAA leaves us no recourse but to consider litigation to make the point that the policy you...

CROOKSTON - The body of Dru Sjodin, the UND student who disappeared last November, has been found, authorities said Saturday. Polk County Sheriff Mark LeTexier sobbed as he told volunteers, "Dru is home." He later confirmed that authorities had found Sjodin's body. Volunteers had joined the search for the 22-year-old student on Saturday. A group at Crookston High School broke into applause after his announcement. Sjodin's father, Allan, and her boyfriend were in a trailer at the high school serving as a makeshift command post for authorities organizing the search. Sjodin, of Pequot Lakes, Minn., disappeared Nov. 22 from a...

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Hundreds of volunteers streamed into the University of North Dakota's hockey arena early today to join the search for Dru Sjodin, a 22-year-old UND senior missing since Saturday night. The volunteers were given identification badges and assigned to teams to search for Sjodin, who police believe may have been abducted. ``I was up all night, because I've just been itching to get out and do this,'' said Jerrod Arneson, one of the volunteers. ``You never think something like this would happen here, and when it does, you want to do something.'' Michelle Vogt said she lived...