Days later, a group of more than two dozen Texas student athletes-including football, basketball, and track stars- posted a letter on social media in which they vowed not to participate in upcoming recruiting or fund-raising events until the university administration addressed a series of concerns.
Then head coach Tom Herman addressed his players: “You’re a minority football player at one of the biggest brands in the country. They were joining thousands of others across the world protesting the killing of George Floyd when they reached the Texas Capitol, players, coaches, and support staff knelt in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time Floyd was pinned to the ground with a policeman’s knee on his neck. On June 4, after one of their first in-person practices since the coronavirus outbreak, the Texas Longhorns football team lined up outside Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and began to march toward downtown Austin. Proudly displaying these lyrics on the class ring continues to be a slap in the face to all who are aware of the song’s history, and to those it continues to affect.Ĭasas is a government junior from Eagle Pass, Texas.This article has been updated to reflect new historical findings published by a University of Texas commission on “The Eyes of Texas.” Our story “A University of Texas Report Will Find That ‘The Eyes of Texas’ Has “No Racist Intent” includes some of the highlights. The president, administration and Texas Exes need to take the initiative and acknowledge that the damage done by the song extends further than playing the song.
UT must eliminate “The Eyes of Texas” engraving altogether to allow all students to happily partake in a great Texas tradition. This continues to alienate students of color at their own school and keeps them from feeling like they truly belong at UT. Students who are uncomfortable with the song face the decision of whether they should wear something that has ties to hateful minstrel shows or completely miss out on the traditional and classic class ring. While students can opt out of partaking in the song in other circumstances, like choosing not to sing along at football games, the engraving on the class ring is not something that UT students can opt out of without missing out on one of the most important benchmarks in a college student’s career. “I believe that it’s not really being talked about … I feel like people won’t notice at first, but once they start getting their eyes on it, they’re gonna be like, okay, yeah, this needs to be taken off.” “I don’t feel comfortable, especially after learning all that goes on with that song, especially with the history, given the fact that (the song was used at) minstrel shows,” Demars said. If we, as a university, want to move past prior displays of racism and prioritize Black student voices, the song’s lyrics must be removed from the UT class ring altogether.Ĭomputer science junior Nathan Demars expressed his discomfort with the University’s alma mater being engraved onto his class ring. “The Eyes of Texas” continually ties the University to its racist past - it is played before and throughout every football game, rings every night from the UT Tower and is written on the gold letters that make up the class ring. As this discourse continues, the appearance of “The Eyes of Texas” on the UT Class Ring remains unaddressed, even while students are in the process of buying their rings this semester. Last summer, UT President Jay Hartzell released a statement saying that we can “effectively reclaim and redefine what the song stands for.” Angry donors have threatened the University with pulling funds if the song is removed.Īlong with the discomfort that this song brings to UT students (especially Black students) knowing that donors come before students in the eyes of the University also fosters a sense of abandonment. The alma mater’s controversy has caused conflict between alumni and current students. The conversation that the administration had with donors, instead of students or faculty, resulted in over $1 million being allocated to a committee that will “revamp” the image of the song, instead of removing it permanently.
It’s been over a year since widespread media coverage of the racist history of “The Eyes of Texas,” UT’s alma mater, began. Editor’s Note: This article first appeared as part of the September 28 flipbook.
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