I will be presenting this idea to the UofI Board of Trustees in March, and plan on using this petition as evidence of support.

There have been many suggestions for a WW1 Fighting Illini in the past so I am not taking full credit for the concept, but the name, mock-ups and what I have prepared will be my contribution for this idea. I will talk about what I have prepared and why:

Why a WWI soldier from Illinois?

We have been using the term "Fighting Illini" since the 1920s, and it became prominent with the building of Memorial Stadium which was built to commemorate the UIUC students that died in WWI. We continue to use the term today, so it seems like the clearest step forward to continue utilizing the phrase under the symbol that it originated from.

Why 'Champ' the Fighting Illini?

I chose the name 'Champ' for many reasons.

1. It can be short for Champaign
2. It is an empowering name to represent UIUC
3. It is a smooth transition from the name "Chief" (Same number of letters, same first two letters, one syllable)

Because of these reasons, I believe many of the alumni that are against everything except bringing back 'Chief' can resonate to the empowering symbol that 'Champ' represents. We also would not have to change some traditional aspects they had when they went here such as using the term 'Fighting Illini'.

Common Concerns:

It seems too militaristic - We have an Armory, a stadium commemorating WWI soldiers that died, and we have major ROTC programs at this school, so while the symbol would be based off a WWI soldier from Illinois, the war ended over 100 years ago and this would represent our school well. I also want 'Champ' to be seen more as a historical figure rather than a military one.

It will be an offensive caricature of the U.S. military if 'Champ' becomes a mascot and a costume - I believe in this day and age, it would be very hard to get away with performing negative stereotypes of groups of people. I think that it could be an honorable tradition for an ROTC student to perform marches and WWI exercises if done correctly and respectfully of course.

Summation:

I will be presenting this idea and information to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees on March 14th around 8 am here in Chambana. I will also showcase some of the mock-ups I have created as you can see below (I would much appreciate some better art from all you artists out there since I'm not the best). If you want to help garner support or create media, please reach out to me. Thank you for taking the time to read this, go Illini!