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University Of Illinois Group Calls For New Mascot

U Of I Student Group Wants New Mascot

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - A group of students at the University of Illinois wants the school to choose a new mascot to replace the now-retired Chief Illiniwek.

"The (Champaign) News-Gazette" reports that Students for a United Campus scheduled a protest on campus Friday to try to pressure administrators to pick a replacement.

The group also wants the university to stop another group from holding a pro-Chief event Saturday. The university has said it won't.

The university stopped using the Chief mascot in 2007 after NCAA sanctions and years of complaints by American Indians and others. But the school continues to call its sports teams the Fighting Illini.

The student group says it wants a new mascot to end what it calls an atmosphere of racial tension on campus.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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