In the months following the retirement of The Chief, campus was a hotbed of disguised racism and intolerance. Students who cared more for a 5 minute half-time tradition than the pride and history of their fellow human beings refused to let the mascot retire quietly. This semester an entirely new issue comes before the UI Board of Trustees: What happens to the Chief's regalia?

The University commissioned Frank Fools Crow, a member of the Oglala Sioux Nation, to make the tunic, leggings, and gloves for the Chief's costume in 1982. All that remains in evidence of this transaction is an invoice showing a $3200 payment to the Tribe elder. The Board of Trustees must now decide whether this regalia is the property of the University, lawfully purchased, or if it is sacred to the Sioux and needs to be returned.

It would seem that the commission was fair, and that the costume belongs to the University. Why not display it in one of our museums or even in a case inside Memorial Stadium? This might serve to appease the less radical pro-chief students and alumni. Of course, there must still be months of pointless deliberation and argument before a simple solution can be agreed upon.