Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Hypocrisy from Virginia Tech?
As I was eating lunch at Dietrick today, I started leafing through the little announcement cards that groups can place in the napkin holders to talk about upcoming events. Here's what I saw:
I didn't actually look at the picture at first. Instead, I was reading through the details (hard to read in this scan) which included the line "But please, no blackface: leave that to the idiots at UVA."
That struck me as a little odd for Virginia Tech to approve, and then I noticed the picture of the Hokie Bird. You should know that Tech is very strict about how university logos may be used. In their guidelines, they say that the ® symbol must accompany any university marks and that the use of university marks should be tasteful. The ® is certainly missing, and I think it'd be pretty hard to say that the Hokie Bird in a black teddy with fishnet stockings is "tasteful."
What really gets me though is that the campus ministry I'm involved with, the Navigators, tried to get shirts made with the Nav logo, the "flying" VT symbol, and a Bible verse. Apparently, Christian organizations may not use Virginia Tech marks if there is an endorsement of religion. Similarly, those of us going to KAA and Kanakuk tried to make shirts that included the words "Virginia Tech" and a Bible verse. No dice. No other college seemed to have a problem with it. Clemson, Mississipi State, Texas A&M, Indiana...no problems at all. Virginia Tech, yes.
So basically, it's okay to have the Hokie Bird cross-dress, so long as there's no endorsement of religion? Figures.
As I was eating lunch at Dietrick today, I started leafing through the little announcement cards that groups can place in the napkin holders to talk about upcoming events. Here's what I saw:
I didn't actually look at the picture at first. Instead, I was reading through the details (hard to read in this scan) which included the line "But please, no blackface: leave that to the idiots at UVA."
That struck me as a little odd for Virginia Tech to approve, and then I noticed the picture of the Hokie Bird. You should know that Tech is very strict about how university logos may be used. In their guidelines, they say that the ® symbol must accompany any university marks and that the use of university marks should be tasteful. The ® is certainly missing, and I think it'd be pretty hard to say that the Hokie Bird in a black teddy with fishnet stockings is "tasteful."
What really gets me though is that the campus ministry I'm involved with, the Navigators, tried to get shirts made with the Nav logo, the "flying" VT symbol, and a Bible verse. Apparently, Christian organizations may not use Virginia Tech marks if there is an endorsement of religion. Similarly, those of us going to KAA and Kanakuk tried to make shirts that included the words "Virginia Tech" and a Bible verse. No dice. No other college seemed to have a problem with it. Clemson, Mississipi State, Texas A&M, Indiana...no problems at all. Virginia Tech, yes.
So basically, it's okay to have the Hokie Bird cross-dress, so long as there's no endorsement of religion? Figures.
