Hookemhorns88

More like Merton Hanks the old DB for the 49ers!

My take is that the Team will stay to sing the song after the game as a Team as I would think that part of the approval of keeping the song was that all parties are good with the direction that is being taken. There may be some outliers that still have an issue with the song but with the concept of Team unity they will stay on the field to sing it.

UT just released their statement on how the request made by the athletes and others regarding the racial and other social issues will be met at the school. It is a very good and thorough plan. It seems to be met with appreciation based upon the Tweets that I have seen so far. Kevin Eltife, Chairman of the Board of Regents and former Tyler mayor, was instrumental in spearheading the solutions. I placed the text of the letter in the college forum under UT.

For those that follow UT the following text is the content that was released from president's office regarding the changes being made at UT in light of the recent social reforms being demanded at school. Contrary to some people that were complaining about UT not acting fast enough in the demands UT deliberately took a measured approach to this in conjunction with others to come up with a solid plan that seems to meet the demands per Tweets that I am seeing from those requesting such changes. As a UT grad I am proud on how UT handled this and with the results. Letter: Dear Longhorns, During the past month, I have listened to — and spoken with — scores of students about how The University of Texas at Austin can promote diversity, equity and inclusion and fully support our Black students. These and similar conversations with alumni, faculty, staff and community members have been challenging, fulfilling and eye-opening all at the same time. I went into them understanding that UT has worked hard in recent decades to become a more diverse and welcoming campus. I came out of them realizing there is still more work to do — and that this work starts and ends by creating an environment in which students, faculty and staff are fully supported before, during and after their time at UT. This goal is shared by many, including the Chairman of our Board of Regents, Kevin Eltife. The Chairman and I have worked closely during the past few weeks, and I’ve been grateful for his ideas and inspiration. I am excited by the next steps and future conversations that are emerging from this process, and I know that Chairman Eltife, our university leadership and I share a common goal of making UT the best it can be for all of our students, faculty, staff and alumni for many years to come. The number of Black undergraduate students on campus has risen by nearly 9% during the past five years, and we are also optimistic about enrollment in this fall’s entering class. With support from the Board of Regents, we have launched the $160 million Texas Advance Commitment and programs such as UT for Me, which are providing many eligible Black students, among many others, with millions of dollars of additional financial support and resources to ease the financial burden for them to attend UT. Even so, our Black students still comprise only 5.1% of the student body. And during the past five years, more than 1,900 Black students who were automatically accepted here given their outstanding performance in high school instead chose to go elsewhere. Obviously, these talented students had many college options and made choices for a variety of reasons. Equally obvious to me is that many of those talented students do not believe our campus will be a welcoming home to them, and that we have not provided enough resources to ensure they will get all that is possible out of a UT education. I have heard this from current and former students, from faculty members, and from staff members. It is clear from these conversations and from the data I’ve reviewed that we can do better. So, together with the support of other members of university leadership, I am announcing a series of initiatives today to change that. These efforts fall into two categories. First: doing more to recruit, attract, retain and support even more talented and diverse students, staff members and faculty members who can change the world. And second: reconsidering how to best reflect our values, both in the symbols and names on our campus, and the openness with which we tell our history. Every action we take must support the people who make UT such a special place and must fulfill our mission to teach, learn and discover. To recruit, attract, retain and support talented and diverse students, faculty and staff, we will: Work with a group of students, faculty, staff and alumni to allocate a multimillion-dollar investment from Athletics’ revenue to worthy university programs — whether on or off campus – that work to recruit, attract, retain and support Black students. We expect that our investments will include at a minimum: Expanding our presence and outreach in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and elsewhere to better recruit outstanding high school students from underrepresented groups. We will raise additional funds to establish more private scholarships specifically dedicated to recruiting students such as those 1,900 Black students who were accepted here and chose to go elsewhere. Providing significant new resources to expand programs that provide transformative opportunities for future Black leaders, including some of the outstanding work already being done within the university. In conjunction with the Texas Exes, and expanding and using Texas Athletics' 4Ever Texas program, launch an effort to improve our students' ability to position themselves for post-graduation success. This will maximize the impact of our vast alumni network and corporate relationships. Adopt a university-wide plan to recruit, develop and retain world-class faculty members who bring more diversity to our research and teaching missions. This plan has been in the works for more than a year under the leadership of Vice Provost for Diversity Ted Gordon and includes new funding for research and scholarship. Refocus and sharpen the implementation of our Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (UDIAP), which was released in 2017. We will regularly signal our priorities, commitment and progress toward measurable goals through a refreshed and better-communicated plan, overseen by Vice President Leonard Moore. Expand the UT Austin Police Oversight Committee to include more community members and a broader range of students, have it meet more frequently, and broaden its mission to oversee student and community engagement, communications and the exploration of creative approaches to community policing, on-campus safety and wellness issues. The second set of actions addresses issues related to our campus and its symbols. After listening to many constituents, I’ve based these decisions on our role as an institution of higher education that is designed to teach and enable discovery. In doing so, I’ve relied upon the input I’ve received from our students, faculty, staff and alumni, and the work to date of our Campus Contextualization Committee, chaired by Vice President Leonard Moore. I have weighed the effects that specific individuals or symbols have made on our university; how they fit with our values today; and the opportunities we have to use the stories surrounding these individuals and symbols to educate, to learn, and ultimately, to move us closer together as a community. To ensure that we recognize and learn from our history and reflect our values through our campus symbols, we will: Rename the Robert L. Moore Building as the Physics, Math and Astronomy Building and provide historical explanations within the building about why past university leaders chose to name the space for Professor Moore. Honor Heman M. Sweatt in additional ways: by creating the Heman M. Sweatt Entrance to T.S. Painter Hall as the main entrance on 24th Street; placing a statue of Mr. Sweatt near the entrance; and then reimagining, redesigning and rededicating a major space in the building as an exhibit and gathering place where we will tell the story of the U.S. Supreme Court case of Sweatt v. Painter. This will recognize Mr. Sweatt’s courage and leadership in changing the world through the 1950 case that he won, allowing him and other Black students to attend UT. This will also place Painter Hall within the context of our university’s resistance to integration under T.S. Painter’s presidency, and ultimately to the Sweatt decision’s crucial role in integrating public education. Honor the Precursors, the first Black undergraduates to attend The University of Texas at Austin, by commissioning a new monument on the East Mall. This will be the central feature of a larger space dedicated to the pioneering students and faculty members who helped move the university toward becoming more inclusive. Erect a statue for Julius Whittier, the Longhorns’ first Black football letterman, at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. At the suggestion of the Jamail family, rename Joe Jamail Field at the stadium in honor of Texas’ two great Heisman Trophy winners, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams, two Longhorn legends with a record of commitment to the university. Educate our community and visitors about the history and context of many of the names that remain, such as the Littlefield Fountain, the statue of Gov. Jim Hogg, the Belo Center and the pedestals on which a series of statues stood until 2017. Building on the work done by the Campus Contextualization Committee, this education may take the form of plaques and a website that our community and visitors can easily access from their phones. Own, acknowledge and teach about all aspects of the origins of “The Eyes of Texas” as we continue to sing it moving forward with a redefined vision that unites our community. “The Eyes of Texas,” in its current form, will continue to be our alma mater. Aspects of its origin, whether previously widely known or unknown, have created a rift in how the song is understood and celebrated, and that must be fixed. It is my belief that we can effectively reclaim and redefine what this song stands for by first owning and acknowledging its history in a way that is open and transparent. Together, we have the power to define what the Eyes of Texas expect of us, what they demand of us, and what standard they hold us to now. "The Eyes of Texas" should not only unite us, but hold all of us accountable to our institution’s core values. But we first must own the history. Only then can we reimagine its future, and I look forward to partnering with our campus community to do just that. These are the actions we will take together. They represent the continued evolution of our university, which has been taking place for 137 years and will carry forward for generations to come. As we develop the details for these plans, I will share them publicly. To all who have been so candid with me about your frustrations, your concerns, your experiences and your beliefs — thank you. It has been a humbling experience to hear and learn from you. Respectfully yours,

Changing names cost a lot of money. It is doubtful that the outside influences will lend a dime. About 15 years ago, the company that I work for re-branded themselves. At the time it was a company of about 2000 employees globally. The price tag to do so was around $2M. Just think about the costs of renaming a city or cities and to a lesser extent schools/buildings. It is not without precedent though as South Africa has done so with some of it's communities. Of course I would not use South Africa as a model of how to do things. And yes, I can speak from experience with SA as I go there a couple of times of year and have been doing so for the last 15+ years. That being said, this is a "one time cost" that should be fully vetted and if the folks that want to change fully understand the cost then they should proceed. In the grand scheme of things it may be a small price to pay to change considering the cost that many have already endured throughout their life of suppression but by changing the name they will still have some financial responsibility with the change. And then some will not care because they do not pay school taxes.

What about the taxpayers? Why would they not have a say? If I am giving money to something I would want a voice. Just a question.

There are so many angles in changing the names of schools, buildings, removal of statues, etc. I have no answer for any of it. I understand people's desire to rename schools and building all of which will come at a financial expense that was not budgeted. It is an expense that will not just be absorbed. Someone will pay (taxpayers) and/or something will be given up (budget cuts). And, as many have pointed out here, what about towns, cities, and counties that were named after people that had a questionable past? Who gets to choose on where the line will be drawn on what to change and what to keep? Is it a financial decision at that time or will someone (who?) just concede that it is not "practical"? Is there a financial cost ceiling? If it is deemed as not "practical" how will it eloquently be explained away? People will argue both sides. If you simply put an asterisk beside a city or town name explaining its naming history then those opposed to removing statues will claim the same thing can be done for a statue or school. Most arguments on both sides have their merits. So many questions and so few answers. Emotion and logic collide. Justice and tradition collide. My head and heart hurts.

Right. WVU can come to Texas but UTEP cannot come to Austin nor can Texas go to Louisiana. Makes zero sense.

Watch all of the old ones that you can while you still can without them being all edited! Here is another one for you: Easy Living starring Victor Mature. it was filmed in 1949. Mature is a football player that has a heart condition, a nagging wife, and the team secretary who loves him. It is melodramatic like a lot of movies in the Golden Age but is is enjoyable. There is one scene towards the end that cracked me up with a WTH moment!

Plus he has been hurt for most of his career so far.

I love old movies. Check out some film noir movies from the ‘40’s or 50’s with Humphrey Bogart, George Raft, Dick Powell, etc. Or maybe an old gangster movie with the same actors but also including Edward G. Robinson. If you want a sports movie watch Knute Rockne All American. It stars Pat O’Brien and Ronald Reagan as the Gipper. It was made in the 40’s.

This and a couple of pennies to keep the needle from skipping!!!

Surely you jest!! You are the music man here of course you know!

I understand that it will be changed. For the longest I never paid attention to the tune. It was Dixie that was played at a very fast pace. For you old timers out there it was like playing a 33 LP on the 78 setting on the record player.

When I left my small East Texas town and headed to Austin for college I was in for a huge surprise. I graduated from high school (1984) with a class of about 140 people. I thought that everyone was "like" me. That is, until I got to UT. What I thought was a normal person was thrown out of the window. For everyone "like" me there were 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 plus that were NOT like me. I will say that some of my viewpoints changed as well as my tolerance level of others grew likewise. But what did not change is my opinion of stupid people and agitators. One thing about being on a major college campus there is always something going on. A group is always protesting something. A bulk of my classes were near the West Mall which was a Free Speech area during noon M-F (It may still be but I do not know for sure) so I witnessed a lot of protesting. It did not matter what the cause was but there was always the same core group protesting something. Of course the protesting group size would change depending on how many other people felt the need to protest but that same core group remained the same. They were always upset about something. Some were not even students. I am all in for changing things for the better but I do not like stupid people that act out of emotion instead of logic and I do not like agitators that keep having to stir the pot for their own personal agendas and/or take things out of context. Plus I do not like others telling someone how they should feel about something. While my daughter was a student at UT (2010-2014) she had to take some Diversity Classes. She had a roommate that had a "COEXISTS" sticker on her car that had all of the different religious symbols spelling the word coexists. While I agree that we need to coexists that does not mean we have to agree. It is of my opinion that the ability to disagree quickly escalates to the other person being wrong and there is no middle ground thus "diversity" is no longer present.

People want diversity as long as you agree with them.

If you have not seen it then you must watch it while you still can.

When my son was in high school he ran track and we would go to his track meets. We would strike up conversations with other people in the stands. Many would ask what event he participated in and many would lead with is he in 800, 1600, etc.? I would say nope, he runs the 100, 200, and is the anchor on the sprint relays. Of course I was met with all types of responses most of which made me laugh....and proud. Just trying to bring some levity to the conversation.

You are correct in the fact that he could have said no. The point is is that someone(s) has his ear and have done some research to point out some of these issues. Doubtful he knew the history of the “Eyes”.

That is not the point.

Apparently the Tweet has been deleted. Who knows what is going on? Kids. Emotion. Tweet. Perhaps.

The problem with the right to free speech today is if you do not say the "right thing", be it right or wrong, and it goes against popular opinion, then you are issuing an apology, losing your job, etc.

When my daughter was in her senior year at UT-Austin she interned with Chuy's Restuarant's marketing department. Part of her job was handling social media. It is amazing how much thought and effort was put into providing the appropriate response to less than stellar comments made on social media. She just turned 28 last week and still is in marketing and does some social media marketing with her present position. We were talking about social media the other day and fortunately she has enough sense to stay off of it with any social commentary.

I am all for starting the season on time and I hope that we do but there are a lot of snowflakes out there that err on the side of extreme caution and/or "political correctness" and/or mob mentality.

Makes you wonder if the season will start at all particularly in this panic driven world we live in today.