Sometimes the fate of the many lies in the hands of the few.
Diverging opinions erupted last week as students discovered that ASUU approved a bill agreeing to hear proposed changes to the lyrics of the U’s 110-year-old fight song, “Utah Man.”
The controversy began over the repeated use of the gender exclusive term “man” within the song, and the phrase “our co-eds are the fairest and each one’s a shining star,” which some see as misogynistic and racist. Others argue that the long-standing tradition associated with the song is reason enough to keep the lyrics as currently constituted.
U students have been increasingly divided and vocal in the past week, but their voices may have little to no impact on the decision, which will go to much smaller groups for deliberation.
Allyson Mower, president of the Academic Senate at the U, said she believes any change in the song would likely be discussed first in the Academic Senate and then by the Board of Trustees.
“If the students are really behind changing the lyrics and there’s some general agreement about what those lyrics should be, then I think a very natural progression would be to have a discussion in the Senate,” Mower said.
The Academic Senate is staffed by 80 elected faculty members, two elected deans and 18 students from student government, including one student from each college and the ASUU president. One of the duties of the Senate is to oversee proposals to the Board of Trustees regarding additions and amendments to university regulations, such as the proposed changes to the Utah Fight Song.
While an appeal to the Senate is probably the next step in the process, Mower said that with the last meeting of the academic year slated for next month, it is unlikely action will be taken immediately. Should the issue be presented in the forthcoming meeting on May 5, the Senate will likely conduct a vote to determine whether or not to send the proposal to the Board of Trustees.
Evelyn Schubert, a freshman in ballet, said she felt bringing this issue to the Academic Senate would encourage students to raise similar issues in the future.
“I just think it will make students feel like they have more say in what happens in the school,” Schubert said. “Maybe they’ll see other issues that they think are [important] and bring them up to hopefully [initiate] change.”
Before the appeal is reviewed, however, ASUU and Senate leaders need to finalize a hypothetical draft of the lyric changes and formulate a plan to implement the changes. Mower said it is unlikely that the Senate will vote on the matter until these details are established.
The issue is especially complicated in part because of collective nature of the song’s ownership.
“The U has a major community, and there are a lot of stakeholders in that community,” Mower said. “[The challenge] is trying to facilitate and engage all of the stakeholders in the conversation.”
a.jose@chronicle.utah.edu
@DrDreJose