Oct 12, 2013 Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes cheerleaders lead the team onto the field prior to a game against the Stanford Cardinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah defeated Stanford 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
I made this suggestion in my Utah Man reaction post yesterday, but it received enough positive response on Twitter, I thought I’d put it out there again so as many people as possible can hear it, consider it and make a recommendation to President Pershing via fightsong@utah.edu if you so choose.
My suggestion is:
- Change the Coed line. The term Coed is demeaning. It comes from a time when women weren’t thought of as equal on college campuses. The term hasn’t improved with age, now mostly being a porn term. A suggestion by a person on Twitter @HSprague was, “Our Scholars Are the Brightest And Each Ones a Shining Star.”
- Keep the Utah Man line because of tradition.
- Issue a statement saying that the University understands that when it was written, Utah Man was likely not meant to be inclusive. But in so many documents written before, such as the Declaration of Independence, we’ve grown to accept that Man has a broader meaning. The University extends that meaning to Man now if that is unclear. Doing so allows us to retain our oldest tradition while acknowledging the issue.
This compromise gives everyone something. For people with issues with the song, it acknowledges that and changes the worst of the song. For those who love and want tradition, the spirit of Utah Man remains in tact. In my opinion, this is as close to giving everyone an win on this issue as you can get.
To conclude I want to speak for a moment for those who feel this compromise is surrender, or those who may have been temporarily seduced by the Utah Sports Radio outrage-pornfest. Just considering for a moment what this compromise does. It keeps a song that you hold dear. It shows you’re actually willing to listen to and consider the other side, thus answering their tyranny of the majority argument. And if any outliers still demand absolute change, this compromise gives you the moral high ground. You aren’t just someone screaming who doesn’t consider others. You made a change while keeping something so very important to you alive.
This compromise shuts down any serious debate about changing it in the future. It gives President Pershing and any future U President a strong precedent to stand on should another ASUU president wish to make a last minute name for himself.
The ASUU vote provides an opportunity to forever end any debate on Utah Man. I think it’s an opportunity we should take. If you feel the same, recommend this to people you know. Contact the Presidents Office and Email at fightsong@utah.edu .