The football is round and so is the athletics nickname of Marquette University. We were Golden Eagles, then Gold, now we are Golden Eagles again. Marquette community finally voted for Golden Eagles as the representative of Marquette spirit again.

It is hard to believe that Marquette has spent so much time and money on such an issue. First of all, MU turned down a 2-million-dollar donation on the request to reinstate the current nickname "Golden Eagles" back to the controversial "Warriors.” Then, the new nickname “Gold” approved by Marquette’s Board of Trustees touched people’s nerve and MU started to consider a new nickname. Two-rounded surveys were conducted to elect the nickname approved by the majority. After the fist round survey, two candidates “Golden Eagles” and “Hilltoppers” won out. In the second phase of the survey, “Golden Eagles” finally beat “Hilltoppers” by a margin of more than 2,000 votes. So we are back to Golden Eagles now.

I do love Marquette and our athletics team. But I can’t help sniffing at the whole process for it is more a public relation campaign than bending down to hear the voices from Marquette community. I showed respect for Marquette’s insistence on dignity and Jesuit tradition while I can’t hide my disappointment based on practical judgments—this is a waste of money and time which should have a better use in improving Marquette community.