Viking sticker campaign raises concerns about inclusion

[BobWoodshed]

http://psuvanguard.com/news/viking-sticker-campaign-raises-concerns-about-inclusion/

I thought this was a joke at first, but nope. PSU's student government has become a parody of itself.

“I prefer mascots that don’t use humans in any form,” Gates said. “I am as concerned about the Portland State Vikings mascot as I [would be] about the Washington Redskins.”
Davis said the board meeting was not the right context to address changing the mascot itself.

 

[martymoose]

http://psuvanguard.com/news/viking-sticker-campaign-raises-concerns-about-inclusion/

I thought this was a joke at first, but nope. PSU's student government has become a parody of itself.

“I prefer mascots that don’t use humans in any form,” Gates said. “I am as concerned about the Portland State Vikings mascot as I [would be] about the Washington Redskins.”
Davis said the board meeting was not the right context to address changing the mascot itself.

The best part of the video is when that guy Gates uses air quotes when saying the word "beard," and has a beard himself.

 

[BroadwayVik]

I think there is a legitimate complaint about the beard being the instrument of non-inclusiveness. Gates implied that it were just a helmet imaging on to the head of each person with their face in position, then we'd see that, yes, we're all Vikings here on the campus. Vikings with unique identities of our own associating fun within the cultural milieu of our chosen sports nickname.

The beard certainly doesn't work in the case of women. Viking women have a strong identity and are best off without the unfortunate circus imagery. The blond beard also doesn't work in the case of men whose beard growth is not blond. Not all Viking men had blond beards, or red, brown, or black beards, but a mix of these. Perhaps some were even beardless.

So, I would advise FIRS to consider the odd feelings of one's image being constrained to wear a blond beard when the beard in the image doesn't fit or flatter. The helmet definitely works :thumb: and so would the trappings of Viking culture, but the beard constraint, unfortunately, does not.

 

[Viktorious]

Someone from FIR told me that they suggested just the helmet only option but was also turned down by the board because it was too barbaric-looking and that it implies the message about Vikings pillaging and raping women and they don't want students associated with that. :?

 

[BroadwayVik]

That seems to be kind of crazy thinking. Many entities carry the sports nickname "Vikings" and it doesn't seem to conjure up the extreme negative with them. They have fun with it. Sometimes they make it a bit cartoon like. They get into it, they get into the spirit of it. They accept it as given and make the best of it.

Western Washington up in Bellingham makes use of this name and they don't seem to entangle themselves with every possible negative nuance like our unfortunate interpreters do here. Such practice seems to border on self-loathing. It smacks of emotional disturbance. A disturbance in the proverbial Force.

The smart move for FIR would be to redo the image mirrors without the beards, so anyone on campus can look in and see themselves as a modern Viking, more interested in world travel, environmental stewardship and excelling in challenges.

AAAARRrrgh! Like roving pirates we be.

Let's be the socially-evolved kind, though, that don't pillage or rape women. We love the spirit of exploration, anachronistic immersion, and being one with the seas and environments of land. 21st Century Vikings.

 

[BobWoodshed]

The problem with posting just the helmet is it wouldn't achieve the intent of what they're going for. They want people to put their faces in the circle to take pictures and post it on social media. If the sticker was just a helmet, then people wouldn't naturally think that they're supposed to put their faces under it. It'd just be a sticker of a helmet.

Bigger picture is it is an attempt at making the entire campus feel some sense of inclusiveness through athletics. Their viking mascot has a helmet and beard and is clearly a male, but nobody has ever suggested at any point in PSU athletics history that only bearded men can watch PSU sports. Same goes for every athletic department ever.

This is about four people who don't like athletics making a huge deal out of something that the rest of campus up to this point has never reported as being an issue. It makes PSU look ridiculous and the uphill battle Mark Rountree is facing look even worse.