When it comes to school spirit, the trickiest part is trying to unify the entire student body behind a symbol, such as a mascot. At DU, Denver Boone, sketched by Walt Disney specifically for the use of the university, was the mascot for most of the 20th century.

Daniel Boone, who was the inspiration for Denver Boone, was a pioneer who fought in the revolutionary war in Kentucky, which primarily involved British settlers against Native American tribes.

It is these battles that he is most known for. It is because of Daniel Boone’s bloody history and involvement in battles which engaged in the slaughter of Native Americans that he was removed as the DU mascot in the first place; also in part because of his sexist implications as a male representing a multi-gendered athletic community.

As of now, Boone is not the “official” university mascot, yet there seems to be no sort of repercussions if using his image when rallying, tail-gating or otherwise getting pumped-up for events.  No one seems to have a problem with it, even though Daniel Boone himself is a bloody icon.

Furthermore, alumni and students have protested in the past to bring him back, arguing  that he is a substantial part of the history of the university.

If his place in the hearts of the students at DU is so substantial, then why not bring him back as the official mascot? Only a small majority of students were against him at the time; why not just throw away their concern about his negative connotations and re-establish him as the official image and symbol that he already appears to be?

That is exactly the reason why the Boone’s image should not be tolerated.

The fact that a small majority find him racially offensive should be enough to put the Boone away and move on to other things. As it stands now, according to the Princeton Review, only 16.22 percent of the student body at DU is minority and only 0.57 percent  is Native American.

The university claims to be progressive and diverse, aiming to try and represent its multicultural community and be what the students need it to be, but the image of Boone is circulated without restriction, as if that small minority who opposes him does not even exist.

When Boone’s image was created by Walt Disney, the copyright was given solely to DU. Since he is not the official mascot, any circulation of him image should, in theory, violate this copyright. The power to stop this image is entirely within the university’s power, and yet nothing is done.

In the absence of an official mascot, Boone is still thriving at sporting events and gatherings, and yet the “unofficial” labeling of him is expected to be enough to silence anyone who opposes him, without actually addressing the problem.

If the Boone is racially insensitive to anyone, he should not be allowed to be the icon that he is. We should either have a mascot that all races at DU can support, or he should not be supported whatsoever – unofficially or not.