The College Fix

From the everything is racist file comes this little tidbit from the University of Oklahoma: A popular, 9-year-old a cappella campus group called “Redliners” recently changed its name because the word “Redliners” is, well – here’s their explanation …

From the Oklahoma Daily:

The name change came from someone pointing out that the name “Redliners” is a sociological reference for racial discrimination, [said Lauren Schechter, the group’s president] …

When the founding members started the group around 9 years ago, the name “Redliners” was a play on words for “headliners” with OU’s red color, she said. “Obviously they did not know that, and did not intend on it being that way, but we are so happy about all of the progress OU is making towards being a more inclusive environment.”

Schechter said the group isn’t very diverse right now, but that they are working toward inclusiveness. “I think any small thing we can do to make it clear that everyone is welcome is definitely a positive thing.”

A sociological reference for racial discrimination?! It cannot get more obscure and ridiculous than that.

If you have ever seen Oklahoma University’s logo – it’s redder than red. What stood as a cute and clever name for nearly a decade was done away because “someone” pointed out this alleged connotation.

That someone who views the entire world with a racism lens and a chip on their shoulder said something to this group is not surprising. But the greater disappointment is that the student singers kowtowed to the slightest whiff of a racism claim instead of laughing it off as ridiculous.

But that’s what the campus world has come to, isn’t it? Leftists have perfectly harnessed intimidation bullying tactics to scare the bejesus out of any rational students who might dare say “pound sand.” They’re tormented, called names, protested, accused of all sorts of nasty things, until said students acquiesce. That’s not what happened here at OU, because the student singers probably just wanted to harmonize to the latest Rihanna song without dodging baseless allegations from peers. They renamed themselves the Crimson Chords this semester and moved on with their lives.

(The Redliners, The University of Oklahoma’s premiere a cappella group, perform “Boyfriend” originally by Justin Bieber at a Fall 2013 concert.)

Meanwhile, this name-changing trend is going bonkers at the University of Oklahoma. Several student organizations in the last two months have dropped the name “Sooner” from their titles so students would not be offended or feel excluded, the Oklahoma Daily reports. And just this week, “Sooner Mental Health” added their name to that list.

“The term ‘Sooner’ has negative connotations for many Native American students who suffer transgenerational trauma from displacement of Native peoples following the Oklahoma land rush,” Indigenize OU member Sydne Gray told the Daily.

Transgenerational trauma. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

If college students cannot stand up for common sense now, how can and will they in real life?

At least the university president is not budging, the only silver lining in this whole affair. As The College Fix reported last month regarding this Sooner issue:

Sooners and Boomers are historical terms referring to those who settled in Oklahoma during the land rush of 1889. Sooners were mostly “deputy marshals, land surveyors, railroad employees, and others who were able to legally enter the territory early to mark out choice pieces of land for themselves or others,” according to SoonerSports.com. Boomers, meanwhile, were the rest of the settlers who took advantage of the land rush.

The words Boomer and Sooner are prominently featured in OU’s fight song, and the Sooner Schooner, or a covered wagon like ones used by pioneers, is pulled by matching white ponies named Boomer and Sooner, which rides across Owen Field “in a triumphant victory ride after every OU score,” SoonerSports.com reports.

OU President David Boren has so far resisted the efforts of Indigenize OU to do away with Boomer and Sooner, saying he believes the words have neither negative connotations nor are harmful to the student body.

“I think the words ‘boomer’ and ‘sooner’ in their modern context are no longer tied to the history of the Oklahoma land settlement. They have taken on a meaning of their own, which stands mainly for strong support of our state and university,” Boren said in a statement.

Read the full story.

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