A Denver Post article Friday revealed further proof that DU crafted its new “safety” mask policy with the direct purpose of excluding unofficial mascot Denver Boone from campus. Don Enloe, DU’s Director of Campus Safety, stated in the article that the policy was carefully crafted to allow for official mascots of other teams and universities to be admitted.
The Post quotes Enloe as follows:
“Athletics have been involved for quite a long time in developing this to make sure we had language in there that allowed for face painting and other spirit (functions) where you could still identify the person, as well as allow for other teams and universities to bring their official mascots on campus.”
Thus, it is not a safety issue for official mascots of other schools to wear masks on our campus – with unknown people lurking within the official costume. For example, Wyoming’s “Pistol Pete” mascot, brandishing his six-shooters, will be welcome because he is “official” – apparently without concerns for safety issues despite the blatant threat of gun violence. But it is a “safety” issue for a DU student, who lives and studies on campus every day, to wear our smiling unofficial Boone costume to cheer on our own home team.
This seems to be the very definition of ridiculous.
And just to make it clear, in order to avoid any safety concerns about who may be in the Boone costume, it was suggested to DU back in December that the DU student inside the costume, before each event, could show identification to DU Campus Safety, be photographed and even wrist-banded so that Campus Safety could know who is inside, thereby addressing any safety concerns. This exception idea, as you already know, was denied by the Chancellor’s Office.
It’s easy to imagine terrorist handbooks all over the world being edited to read: “When infiltrating a university campus or school athletic event, be very very careful to dress only as an official mascot.”
Another disturbing implication in the Enloe quote is that DU Athletics was involved in crafting this policy, which runs contrary to to the previous policy of allowing Denver Boone on DU’s campus. A sad situation, indeed.
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Please take a few minutes and write to alumni@du.edu and cc the boardoftrustees@du.edu and let them know how you feel about the banning of Denver Boone on the DU campus as well as your thoughts about any efforts to change or eliminate Pioneers as the University of Denver nickname. Your voices are critical to this issue.
Wow. I can’t believe a DU official actually effectively admitted DU’s deceptive practices to the Post. It’s the smoking gun that proves that DU acted in a sneaky, deceptive fashion to couch their mascot ban as a safety issue, It’s outrageous.
I am very worried about where this is all going…
B.O.T. can’t stop tripping over their privates!
Things like this snow ball out into the future and many times get to a point where the initiators wish they had never brought started it.
skip brought
Good grief, the bumbling fools
I have sent a letter to all parties involved in this idiotic decision. I strongly urge anyone who cares about DU and the direction Chopp and the rest or her acolytes have taken do the same. While there are certainly no guarantees that the decision will be reversed, at least we are on record. Ladies and gentlemen, silence on this issue is not an option.
Thanks Miller. That is the only way we tell the administration about our opinion on the Boone ban and the very future of ‘Pioneers’. People need to share their opinion now or live with the consequences – e-mail boardoftrustees@du.edu and cc alumni@du.edu.
Agree with Miller.
Chopp & her merry band need to be running a private high school. They are showing they aren’t qualified to be running a university.
DU needs to be producing Pioneers not snowflakes who snitch on each other for wearing Sombreros.
Wow. I can’t believe a DU official actually effectively admitted DU’s deceptive practices to the Post. It’s the smoking gun that proves that DU acted in a sneaky, deceptive fashion to couch their mascot ban as a safety issue, It’s outrageous.
I am very worried about where this is all going…
B.O.T. can’t stop tripping over their privates!
Things like this snow ball out into the future and many times get to a point where the initiators wish they had never brought started it.
skip brought
Good grief, the bumbling fools
I have sent a letter to all parties involved in this idiotic decision. I strongly urge anyone who cares about DU and the direction Chopp and the rest or her acolytes have taken do the same. While there are certainly no guarantees that the decision will be reversed, at least we are on record. Ladies and gentlemen, silence on this issue is not an option.
Thanks Miller. That is the only way we tell the administration about our opinion on the Boone ban and the very future of ‘Pioneers’. People need to share their opinion now or live with the consequences – e-mail boardoftrustees@du.edu and cc alumni@du.edu.
Agree with Miller.
Chopp & her merry band need to be running a private high school. They are showing they aren’t qualified to be running a university.
DU needs to be producing Pioneers not snowflakes who snitch on each other for wearing Sombreros.
Please remove me from any DU postal and email lists. I no longer want to be associated with my university when they engage in such absurd political overreach. How can you dismiss those who have supported the university for over 150 years, the people and path who have made, until Combe and Chopp came along, a great institution of higher learning?
I used to be very proud of my degree from DU. Now I am embarrassed by it.
I cannot understand the Board of Trustees motivation behind their policies. You are turning your back on traditions and the Pioneering spirit that made the university, the city and the state a place of which to be proud. This insidious trend started years ago with the removal of the Boone, even though the effort has not been as successful as they hoped. I am sick and tired of people (the board of trustees) trying to ram political agendas down my throat. And that trend has now escalated. So I choose to no longer be a part of or be financially supportive of DU.
Go on and have your happy, little university community. Watch alumni support go away. Watch enrollment decline because parents of students will not pay the out of control tuition to have their children brain washed in a politically correct university where free thinking students or professors are not welcome. Watch hockey attendance and revenue continue to decline. And watch DU become irrelevant in the larger community.
According to your publications, the elimination of Boone was to be more inclusive and be more community involved. Let me tell one example of how DU is perceived in the business community. A person close to me is a hiring manager for one of the national CPA firms. They generally will not hire the candidates from DU because of their arrogance. Consider that a canary in the coal mine.
Keep up your elitist attitudes and your synchophantic surroundings. But it will be without my support. You may email one more time, to let me know when they fire Chopp and reverse the political overreach that has overtaken what was once a great institution.
Ron Hilton
Please be sure to send this to boardofdirectors@du.edu and cc alumni@du.edu. Your voice is important, Ron
Great letter Ron. A lot of great people work at DU. Its such a shame that it has come to this.
Its obvious that our Alumni are rising up. I received many emails & texts over the weekend from alums asking how they can help. Comments on LetsGoDU, Facebook & emails to DU speak for themselves
This isn’t going to die down or fade away. The ball is squarely in BOT Court. We have a Chancellor who has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in a very short amount of time. She believes that doubling down on Inclusive Excellence is the path forward. All this comes at a price, $64,000 a year in tuition and room & board.
There are storm clouds on the horizon. The 80% tax deduction for Gold & Crimson Club membership has been eliminated, the marijuana laws are under review which could affect applications to DU & the alumni are enraged at the prospect of a name change.
I hope the BOT can find a middle ground without changing the Pioneer name.
FIRE BRANDON MACNEIL!!!
There is no evidence that Brandon had anything to do with this. We will try to find out the truth but our best guess is that that campus safety & the administration ‘scapegoated’ athletics. But we are still digging…
seems weird that athletics wouldnt be in on decision. maybe theyre just blaming eachother so no one can be blamed?
That is a fair challenge. We may never know. However, athletics does not seem to gain with a ban. However, the administration and campus security have probable roles in creating this policy and yes, they probably consulted with athletics on implementation. After all, the decision seems to be as political as it is about ‘safety’. But, as ‘the front porch’ for the University, athletics are going to take the most heat while the folks south of Asbury sit in their offices.
could new AD fix any of this when he/she takes over?
Ultimately, the administration owns this because it is a Campus-wide Policy. The new AD could influence but not directly change. A new administration or Board could also reevaluate the policy. But that, likely, would be long-term.
Please remove me from any DU postal and email lists. I no longer want to be associated with my university when they engage in such absurd political overreach. How can you dismiss those who have supported the university for over 150 years, the people and path who have made, until Combe and Chopp came along, a great institution of higher learning?
I used to be very proud of my degree from DU. Now I am embarrassed by it.
I cannot understand the Board of Trustees motivation behind their policies. You are turning your back on traditions and the Pioneering spirit that made the university, the city and the state a place of which to be proud. This insidious trend started years ago with the removal of the Boone, even though the effort has not been as successful as they hoped. I am sick and tired of people (the board of trustees) trying to ram political agendas down my throat. And that trend has now escalated. So I choose to no longer be a part of or be financially supportive of DU.
Go on and have your happy, little university community. Watch alumni support go away. Watch enrollment decline because parents of students will not pay the out of control tuition to have their children brain washed in a politically correct university where free thinking students or professors are not welcome. Watch hockey attendance and revenue continue to decline. And watch DU become irrelevant in the larger community.
According to your publications, the elimination of Boone was to be more inclusive and be more community involved. Let me tell one example of how DU is perceived in the business community. A person close to me is a hiring manager for one of the national CPA firms. They generally will not hire the candidates from DU because of their arrogance. Consider that a canary in the coal mine.
Keep up your elitist attitudes and your synchophantic surroundings. But it will be without my support. You may email one more time, to let me know when they fire Chopp and reverse the political overreach that has overtaken what was once a great institution.
Ron Hilton
Please be sure to send this to boardofdirectors@du.edu and cc alumni@du.edu. Your voice is important, Ron
Great letter Ron. A lot of great people work at DU. Its such a shame that it has come to this.
Its obvious that our Alumni are rising up. I received many emails & texts over the weekend from alums asking how they can help. Comments on LetsGoDU, Facebook & emails to DU speak for themselves
This isn’t going to die down or fade away. The ball is squarely in BOT Court. We have a Chancellor who has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in a very short amount of time. She believes that doubling down on Inclusive Excellence is the path forward. All this comes at a price, $64,000 a year in tuition and room & board.
There are storm clouds on the horizon. The 80% tax deduction for Gold & Crimson Club membership has been eliminated, the marijuana laws are under review which could affect applications to DU & the alumni are enraged at the prospect of a name change.
I hope the BOT can find a middle ground without changing the Pioneer name.
FIRE ANGEL FIELD!!!
As far as we know, Angel Field was not involved in this decision. However, Andy Reid should be fired for allowing the second-half collapse to the Titans this past weekend.
she should’ve been fired years ago. she’s absolutely clueless.
I have to say that the athletic department has given us help whenever we have asked. Access to coaches, press box, interviews for stories, etc…Angel has helped us whenever we have asked.
TOTALLY irrelevant – jim tracy was a nice guy, does that mean he should still be manager of the rockies? trevor siemian is accommodating to bloggers, does that make him better at throwing a football? du athletics has been bad in some key business areas for a while now – including (and especially) marketing, that’s the bottom line.
FIRE BRANDON MACNEIL!!!
There is no evidence that Brandon had anything to do with this. We will try to find out the truth but our best guess is that that campus safety & the administration ‘scapegoated’ athletics. But we are still digging…
seems weird that athletics wouldnt be in on decision. maybe theyre just blaming eachother so no one can be blamed?
That is a fair challenge. We may never know. However, athletics does not seem to gain with a ban. However, the administration and campus security have probable roles in creating this policy and yes, they probably consulted with athletics on implementation. After all, the decision seems to be as political as it is about ‘safety’. But, as ‘the front porch’ for the University, athletics are going to take the most heat while the folks south of Asbury sit in their offices.
could new AD fix any of this when he/she takes over?
Ultimately, the administration owns this because it is a Campus-wide Policy. The new AD could influence but not directly change. A new administration or Board could also reevaluate the policy. But that, likely, would be long-term.
FIRE ANGEL FIELD!!!
As far as we know, Angel Field was not involved in this decision. However, Andy Reid should be fired for allowing the second-half collapse to the Titans this past weekend.
she should’ve been fired years ago. she’s absolutely clueless.
I have to say that the athletic department has given us help whenever we have asked. Access to coaches, press box, interviews for stories, etc…Angel has helped us whenever we have asked.
TOTALLY irrelevant – jim tracy was a nice guy, does that mean he should still be manager of the rockies? trevor siemian is accommodating to bloggers, does that make him better at throwing a football? du athletics has been bad in some key business areas for a while now – including (and especially) marketing, that’s the bottom line.
Show the courage to post your name when you call for someone to be fired. Brandon has been a great asset to DU athletics. We support Brandon and the athletic staff 100%. And if we had any problems, we would have written about it.
Fire ANGEL AND BRANDON! SEE MY NAME IS POSTED!
You will see who is responsible for all this in our next article – and it is not athletics.
Boone is your name? lol
Show the courage to post your name when you call for someone to be fired. Brandon has been a great asset to DU athletics. We support Brandon and the athletic staff 100%. And if we had any problems, we would have written about it.
Fire ANGEL AND BRANDON! SEE MY NAME IS POSTED!
You will see who is responsible for all this in our next article – and it is not athletics.
Boone is your name? lol
Another fine example of liberal lunacy. G of save us
Another fine example of liberal lunacy. G of save us