The Meaning of Symbols.

In his essay “The Servant As Leader”, Robert Greenleaf wrote “Nothing is meaningful until it is related to the hearer’s own experience. One may hear words, one may even remember them and repeat them, as a computer does in a retrieval process. But meaning, a growth in experience as a result of receiving the communication, requires the hearer supply the imaginative link from the hearer’s fund of experience to the abstract language symbols the speaker has used.”

The recent news about the controversy over University of North Dakota’s sports team nickname “the Fighting Sioux” and accompaning logo brings out an example of leaders not choosing words that lead to growth . The University is facing sanctions from the NCAA based on findings that the nickname is considered “hostile and abusive”. The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education has authorized the University to pursue litigation challenging the NCAA’s decision. UND president Charles E. Kupchella wrote a letter to the NCAA about their charges. He wrote, “We were initially stunned by the charge ‘abusive’ and ‘hostile,’ and then angry.” Kupchella goes on to defend the University’s choice in using the nickname based on reasons that included: a respected Indian artist designed their logo, Indian names are used all across North Dakota for geographic locations, the University has over 400 American Indian Students, and that of the two Sioux Indian tribes that exist in North Dakota only one objected to the use of the nickname. Kupchella's letter indicates that the leadership of the University has seriously failed to understand why some might find the continued use of the nickname and logo“hostile and abusive”.

Another group of leaders at UND fortunately demonstrate how the Board and President’s choice of words are indeed “hostile and abusive”. BRIDGES is a student organization at the University that has been working towards getting the nickname and logo changed. Their Web Site contains another interesting letter from UND alumnus Ralph Engelstad. Mr. Engelstad had donated $200 million dollars for the construction of “The Ralph Elgelstad Arena” at the University. His donation was based on the condition that the University kept the “Fighting Sioux” nickname, and his letter to Kupchella made it clear that changing the nickname would result in withdrawal of his contribution. Mr. Engelstad has since passed away, but his conditional $200 million legacy has not. The BRIDGES site contains some additional interesting information on Mr. Engelstad motives and history and other examples of why the UND nickname and logo are “hostile and abusive”.

It is too bad that the UMD Board and President continue to attempt to lead under the premise that “money speaks louder then words”. It is reassuring that at least some of the students at UND are examples of leaders who have gone beyond simply hearing or repeating words, but have come to understand the real meaning behind the "picture worth $200 million".

So what abstract language do you see in the “Fighting Sioux” symbol?