Frankly, there are larger problems than Rhett

It came as news to many that the Boston University terrier mascot had a name. It’s Rhett.

But it may not be for long.

The university is mulling a name change because the mascot’s moniker is a reference to a character in “Gone with the Wind,” the 1939 movie slammed by critics as romanticizing slavery.

According to The Hill, a  committee of students, alumni and faculty will offer a recommendation to B.U. President Robert Brown for renaming the mascot by mid-October.

Brown said in a letter “In the Boston University context, the ‘Rhett’ nickname is, of itself, a play on words. Since our school color is scarlet, it was a short leap for students — or perhaps a sports publicist — to link Rhett to Scarlett O’Hara, the other romantic lead in the book and movie.”

“Despite this seemingly cute connection between the movie and our mascot’s name, the fact is that the movie’s portrayal of the American Civil War, postwar reconstruction, and slavery is offensive,” he added.

While this ticks all the right woke boxes, there are other, larger, more concrete changes that can be made on the B.U. campus.

According to the university’s publication, BU Today, about 5,000 students, faculty, staff and alumni gathered online last month for the BU Day of Collective Engagement: Racism and Antiracism, Our Realities and Our Roles, an array of webinars.

Recent alum Ina Joseph (COM’20) noted in one session: “Over time, it became clearer and clearer to me, and more poignant in my experiences in and out of the classroom, that there’s only 5.8% Black faculty on campus.”

Increasing the number of Black faculty has a lot more substantive bite than making Rhett into Rudiger.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2YUR0BV