White Knights

setshot · August 23, 2011, 06:42:01 PM

The photo of the Valpo student-athletes is rather disturbing. We're almost all lilly white. I thought that diversity was one of the our basic tenets. Guess not. Therefore,to truly reflect the "real" Valpo,we should ditch the Crusader mascot and call our athletic team's the "White Knights." It fits.

KL31NY · August 23, 2011, 08:15:17 PM

"White Knights"... this has to be some really bad joke. Especially seeing that when I hear "White Knights," the first thing that I can associate that term w/ is the KKK.

Don't know what your intention was, setshot, but I find this pretty offensive.

valpofan56 · August 23, 2011, 08:16:54 PM

This post all but confirms what I already had assumed, setshot = jj.

okinawatyphoon · August 23, 2011, 09:05:51 PM

Valpo is quite a bit more diverse than your favorite school jj: Butler. And this is a ridiculous topic anyway.

setshot · August 23, 2011, 09:32:25 PM

KL31NY: Did you ever hear that the USMA has been called "the Black Knights of the Hudson?" Get with it. How about the "White Knights of the Cornfields." That would fit. And take a look at the group picture and the volleyball team picture. Case closed. Go Knights!

vu72 · August 24, 2011, 06:59:05 AM

I think Valpo is about the same diveristy wise as many similar institutions. Here is a site that says about 18% of Valpo students are non-white and I suspect that the athletic teams have a similar mix. Now setshot, try not to focus on thw swim teams and look at football, men's soccer or basketball!

http://collegeprowler.com/valparaiso-university/diversity/

agibson · August 24, 2011, 04:42:16 PM

Which photo are we even talking about?

Valpo's not as diverse as I'd like: maybe the faculty is worse off than the students. But, we're probably not doing _that_ badly. I'd think some of our prominent athletic teams (e.g. Men's Basketball) are considerably more diverse (ethnic background, international) than the rest of campus.

I still don't think he's jj. Just another troll. But maybe it's been long enough that I'm giving jj too much credit.

agibson · August 24, 2011, 04:43:41 PM

But, if we want to light a torch for diversity: I'm getting more and more serious about a return to the Uhlan. Maybe we could even have him carry the Shield of Character.

FWalum · September 12, 2011, 12:24:16 AM

Quote from: setshot on August 23, 2011, 09:32:25 PM
KL31NY: Did you ever hear that the USMA has been called "the Black Knights of the Hudson?" Get with it. How about the "White Knights of the Cornfields." That would fit. And take a look at the group picture and the volleyball team picture. Case closed. Go Knights!

Not even close to being the same thing. The connotation would be completely different considering that VU came very close to being purchased by the KKK before the Lutheran's were able to make the purchase. Either you don't know much of the school's history or, as I suspect is the truth, you are just trying to stir the pot.

covufan · September 12, 2011, 11:43:01 AM

Quote from: FWalum on September 12, 2011, 12:24:16 AM
Quote from: setshot on August 23, 2011, 09:32:25 PM
KL31NY: Did you ever hear that the USMA has been called "the Black Knights of the Hudson?" Get with it. How about the "White Knights of the Cornfields." That would fit. And take a look at the group picture and the volleyball team picture. Case closed. Go Knights!
Not even close to being the same thing. The connotation would be completely different considering that VU came very close to being purchased by the KKK before the Lutheran's were able to make the purchase. Either you don't know much of the school's history or, as I suspect is the truth, you are just trying to stir the pot.

setshot = jj = stir the pot

setshot · September 12, 2011, 11:50:14 AM

Check out the 2011-12 volleyball roster taken at the IN.Dunes State Park. Great picture,wholesome looking student-athletes,but with one exception all "white," Diversity?

vu72 · September 12, 2011, 12:15:35 PM

Quote from: setshot on September 12, 2011, 11:50:14 AM
Check out the 2011-12 volleyball roster taken at the IN.Dunes State Park. Great picture,wholesome looking student-athletes,but with one exception all "white," Diversity?

So you want quotas versus success. Interesting. BTW, look a little more carefully before you write:

http://www.valpoathletics.com/volleyball/roster/2011-12/4474/mary-dent/

Oh yeah, just checked the Notre Dame volleyball roster. You must love the deversity there. They do have diversity on their roster. One player of color.

agibson · September 12, 2011, 12:25:00 PM

I'm all for diversity, but can well imagine that some sports might draw from different communities than other. One student on a roster of 14 doesn't seem very diverse. But, averaging over the campus, what would you expect? Something less than three students on the team?
Even before accounting for any sport vs. culture bias. And, sometimes if you're throwing random numbers, and expect 2.8, you'll get 1.

In the one volleyball game I've attended this season, I did notice that a young woman of darker skin tones, I guess it's the Mary Dent linked, seemed to be one of our most potent hitters.

78crusader · September 12, 2011, 12:42:23 PM

This thread is ridiculous. African Americans make up 12% of the population. We have one African American on the volleyball roster -- if we had two, then we would be slightly above 12%. So we're one away from meeting the national average -- is that really a big deal?

Why not focus, instead, on the fact that this program recruits exceptional kids and is probably, year in and year out, our most successful athletics program.

Paul

valpopal · September 12, 2011, 03:25:40 PM

Quote from: 78crusader on September 12, 2011, 12:42:23 PM
This thread is ridiculous. African Americans make up 12% of the population. We have one African American on the volleyball roster -- if we had two, then we would be slightly above 12%. So we're one away from meeting the national average -- is that really a big deal?

Why not focus, instead, on the fact that this program recruits exceptional kids and is probably, year in and year out, our most successful athletics program.

Paul

I agree with Paul that this is a ridiculous thread, but I will add to Paul's comment. African Americans do make up about 12% of the population. However, due to extraordinarily high drop-out rates in high school, an unemployment rate among blacks that is double that of whites, and the fact that many African Americans who attend college choose one of the 100 or so historically black colleges, the actual percentage of African Americans (including non-scholarship athletes, such as in football) who could or would attend a very expensive Lutheran affiliated university at least an hour distance from any large urban area would be at least half of that 12%. Therefore, if Valpo has an enrollment of 5-6% African Americans, that would be expected.

rlh · September 12, 2011, 05:01:15 PM

I will go even further....my son coaches volleyball in high school in one of the large school's in the state....they play other school's mostly of equal or bigger enrollments and I defy you to find more than one or two African-American players on those teams even those from the Gary area. Volleyball is not one of the sports those girls seem to gravitate too...I don't think it has anything whatsoever to do with diversity or fairness or any of that PC stuff. He would love to have 12 African-American's on his team, if they can play....you just don't find that many around here, at least at the high school level.

setshot · September 12, 2011, 06:48:52 PM

What percentage of the population do Latinos and Asians represent? Add this to the % of African-Americans and you have better than a third of our population considered minorities. Valpo? Demographically,not even close. White Knights is a "great" moniker for the VU athletic mascot. Book it!

valpo04 · September 12, 2011, 07:28:35 PM

This thread is beyond silly.

White Knights

valpofan56