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Post by HC13 on Feb 2, 2018 7:25:18 GMT -5
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Feb 2, 2018 7:56:16 GMT -5
Very, very sad. This is yet another milepost along the road to our society's march to doom
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Post by sader1970 on Feb 2, 2018 8:01:21 GMT -5
13, thanks for sharing this bad news.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Feb 2, 2018 8:02:01 GMT -5
I have previously said hat the name of the newspaper was up to the editorial board of the newspaper, and not something that should involve the administration of the college. And the editorial by the editorial board makes that clear. Even though the editorial board made no recommendation to the BoT with respect to the nickname/mascot, their explanation for why they changed the name was like throwing a gauntlet. I would not have changed the name, but I also was a Patcher editor, and never edited or wrote for the newspaper. .
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Post by sader1970 on Feb 2, 2018 8:06:34 GMT -5
I believe we have more than a couple of "The Crusader" posters here. My Dad worked on "The Tomahawk" and son on "The Crusader" but even in my father's time, the team and the mascot were "Crusaders."
This is not a good sign despite explanations that it is independent of the BoT. At minimum, as it gives "cover" to the Board to change the mascot. After all, the "students" think the name is offensive.
Let's see how important the alums are to the Board. BTW, my "read" based on my attendance at one of the public hearings is that the majority of the students were not supportive of a name change. Though just anecdotal.
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Post by alum on Feb 2, 2018 8:26:28 GMT -5
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Post by hc811215 on Feb 2, 2018 8:48:58 GMT -5
While some may disagree with the decision, I believe the students acquitted themselves well in their decision making and stated reasoning. Their press release was quite measured in laying out its rationale. I also think a lot of thought went into the newspaper's new name and that will help in the transition.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Feb 2, 2018 8:54:52 GMT -5
I believe we have more than a couple of "The Crusader" posters here. My Dad worked on "The Tomahawk" and son on "The Crusader" but even in my father's time, the team and the mascot were "Crusaders." This is not a good sign despite explanations that it is independent of the BoT. At minimum, as it gives "cover" to the Board to change the mascot. After all, the "students" think the name is offensive. Let's see how important the alums are to the Board. BTW, my "read" based on my attendance at one of the public hearings is that the majority of the students were not supportive of a name change. Though just anecdotal. What I deduce from their explanation is that the medieval knight with sword and shield is in trouble. Their explanation centers on the excesses that happened during several of the crusades. ________________________ Taking a break from researching the medieval history of my family (I found more relatives who went on the First Crusade; they deserted with relics during the siege of Antioch) I decided to look into the naming of the Church (later Cathedral) of the Holy Cross in Boston. The College of the Holy Cross was named after the church. After some study, I concluded that Bishop Cheverus, who built and named the church, named it after a church on the Ile de la Cite in Paris, near Notre Dame. This church was named Holy Cross, because it housed a relic of the 'true cross'. St. Louis, the French King, had brought this and other relics from the Venetians. The Venetians acquired the relics from the crusaders who sacked Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade. Cheverus had fled France with the onset of the French Revolution. The church of the Holy Cross in Ile de la Cite was demolished after the relic was lost/removed. The demolition occurred a year or so after the end of the Revolution. This occurred several years before Cheverus built the first Catholic church in Boston. If my conclusion is correct, this would represent a tangible association between the college and the crusades. .
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Post by Tom on Feb 2, 2018 9:09:22 GMT -5
Too bad
I'm still counting on the BoT to be pragmatists. I don't think changing the name of the paper will have much negative impact on the school. On the other hand, abandoning the mascot will have a real and measurable impact on the school. The BoT has to know this
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Feb 2, 2018 9:10:32 GMT -5
"If my conclusion is correct, this would represent a tangible association between the college and the crusades."
All the more reason to keep everything as is: NO CHANGE NEEDED
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Post by sader1970 on Feb 2, 2018 9:36:10 GMT -5
Here is what I just wrote to my two sons [one and HC alum, one a Fairfield alum and both not in agreement]:
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Post by hc80 on Feb 2, 2018 9:58:17 GMT -5
I have made my last contribution to the institution.
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Post by crusader12 on Feb 2, 2018 10:26:04 GMT -5
I have made my last contribution to the institution. ditto
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Post by matunuck on Feb 2, 2018 10:46:27 GMT -5
As I have written many times before, zero chance the school keeps things as is. They will find a polite way to kick the Crusader upstairs. HC has become increasingly politicized, trendy, and predictable, from our admissions to our website and social media to our senior leadership. Perhaps at some point they will inform us how they plan to increase our stagnant application numbers, among others concerns.
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Post by rgs318 on Feb 2, 2018 10:58:40 GMT -5
I was proud to write for the Crusader for 3 years. I have never written for and have no real interest in "The Spire." I wish them well, but I also believe they have made a mistake. It is their paper, so I hope the majority of students are OK with this PC change. After all, it was not too long ago that the future of the paper was being discussed and some thought it had already disappeared. Perhaps the new name means it is making a comeback. Now, the name applies more to its website than to an actual "paper" in the traditional sense. I can still remember when students crowded outside of their mailboxes to get their copy of their Crusader each week...ah, good times.
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Post by WCHC Sports on Feb 2, 2018 11:29:07 GMT -5
What message do we send when we will not stand up for what we believe? What message do we send when we allow our detractors and our opponents and the short-sighted to set the table for discourse, and allow our opinions to sway like un-anchored trash floating in the breeze?
Seriously, the more we fail to set ourselves apart, the more the school will move towards languishing in obscurity. It is not a blemish on the academic or moral reputation of the College to be unique, to be proud, and to defend their values-- even Christian values-- if that truly is the mission of the school. A collection of liberal-minded, or worse, like-minded hipsters in a 3,000 person Agreement Factory, Circle of Compliments, Safe Space, will not train students well for the real world, or at least the world I live in.
I look forward to having folks buy me Holy Cross gear for Christmas next year, and the mascot will be the HC Ethereal, with a picture of a purple banner twisting in the wind.
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Post by WCHC Sports on Feb 2, 2018 11:32:35 GMT -5
@cl Metsfan... what say you? You have a much closer relationship to the publication than I do, or many of us do. Your political leanings are left of mine. I did write a pretty dramatic response... the paper is the paper no matter what you call it. "By any other word would smell as sweet, ..." sort of thing... so not the end of the world. But for this little world, I think it's representative.
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Post by alum on Feb 2, 2018 11:42:01 GMT -5
I have made my last contribution to the institution. I tend to doubt that, unless you are just looking for a reason to not support the College. Plenty of schools have done more dramatic things than change their nicknames. For example, some have dropped or curtailed Greek life. They get a backlash but it goes away over time. I imagine that there were some who said they would never give again after the decision to admit women. Eventually, people get over this stuff. And honestly, you would consider not donating because of the name of the student newspaper?
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Post by sader1970 on Feb 2, 2018 11:51:57 GMT -5
I can’t speak for 80 but as for me, while we should never say never, from this former Class Chair and current Class Correspondent, PC, CAF member, co-leader of the Insurance Professionals affinity group, I will wipe the dust of Holy Cross from my sandals.
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Post by hchoops on Feb 2, 2018 11:52:47 GMT -5
i have not read this entire thread, but if each editorial board can change the name of the paper, there may be no continuity, never mind a constant struggle to find an appropriate name. this is a bad precedent to give a few students this power each year. Was the student body polled ?
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Post by lou on Feb 2, 2018 12:05:34 GMT -5
i have not read this entire thread, but if each editorial board can change the name of the paper, there may be no continuity, never mind a constant struggle to find an appropriate name. this is a bad precedent to give a few students this power each year. Was the student body polled ? Was thinking along the same lines ... change it something else next year?
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Post by rgs318 on Feb 2, 2018 12:17:45 GMT -5
A new name each year? Well, that would be a "tradition" of sorts and could give each senior class its stamp on the publication.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Feb 2, 2018 12:29:09 GMT -5
i have not read this entire thread, but if each editorial board can change the name of the paper, there may be no continuity, never mind a constant struggle to find an appropriate name. this is a bad precedent to give a few students this power each year. Was the student body polled ? There supposedly was a poll at the start of the first semester, but without seeing the actual phrasing of the poll question(s), it is hard to determine whether it was a meaningful gauge. For example, if the poll asked whether the newspaper's name should be changed because of the similarity to the Klan's newspaper. As the newspaper is independent, the editorial board holds sway on both the name of the newspaper, and its content. I expect the editorial boards to act responsibly, and there is no indication that their decision was hasty, or ill-considered.
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Post by hc80 on Feb 2, 2018 12:41:57 GMT -5
Alum,
With respect to you question as to whether I would stop contributing because of the student newspaper name change, absolutely. The editorial board of the student newspaper is a snapshot of the community as a whole. If we are educating young men and women in such a culture that could possibly come to such a ridiculous conclusion, then I have no interest in supporting such an institution. Is it even remotely reasonable to have started the entire questioning of the newspaper title because of an alleged fear of being associated with the KKK's crusader publication? Was there any hue and cry anywhere beyond a handful of paid employees (faculty) and students begging that certain traditions, monikers, and names be set aside in order to ease the pain and suffering of unidentified victims? It is fine to question and an educational institution should challenge itself and its students; but, at its very core, the institution has become just part of the mainstream - a safe and happy place with participation trophies and encouraging form over substance, political correctness over deep seated belief.
In my day, The Crusader published articles challenging the College's investments in company's that were invested in the apartheid regime of South Africa. The Crusader provided news and commentary on the discord associated with Pope John Paul's visit to America. We examined the importance and impacts of Title IX which was first passed in the 1970s. Yes, The Crusader was a publication that put forward the issues of the day, attempted offer commentary and also report the mundane events of campus life. The publication itself and the community as a whole were Crusaders. I was proud to write and edit The Crusader during my four years on Mt. St. James.
The Crusader had meaning; the publication and the name meant something. The Spire is a hollow piece of a building - it can be easily replaced or even removed. Not so The Crusader.
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Post by Tom on Feb 2, 2018 12:43:03 GMT -5
i have not read this entire thread, but if each editorial board can change the name of the paper, there may be no continuity, never mind a constant struggle to find an appropriate name. this is a bad precedent to give a few students this power each year. Was the student body polled ? Fair point. Last year, after the letter from faculty, the editorial board considered changing and made a decision to keep the name "Crusader". This is a school. Students come and go. The editorial board has turnover just like every other student organization. Although I think it's unlikely, next year a new editorial board might change it back. Perhaps they'll change the name of the April 1st edition from the Tomahawk to the Crusader --------------------------------------- FYI to younger alum - when I was at HC back in the early 80's, the paper put out a spoof edition in conjunction with April Fool's Day. The spoof edition was called the Tomahawk, I assume in tribute to the former name of the paper. I have no idea if this tradition continues today
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