Should UND Expel Students For Wearing Shirts That Offended Sioux Tribe?

[GenesisNemesis]

Oh, I wasn't aware.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

I get how the shirts are offensive. They offend me. But that doesn't affect my statement. People in a free society get to be assholes. And if this exercise in cruel stupidity and idiotic hatred happened outside of the UND and its sponsorship, I'm trying to understand how the assholes are to be expelled. Is there a stipulation in your acceptance letter that assholery on or off campus is an expellable offense?

 

[Nice Squirrel]

Yes. Unfortunately.

 

[laughing dog]

Given UND's history, I would not expect much of a reaction from them on this request (assuming there even has been violation of university policy or codes of conduct). North Dakota is not a leader in racial sensitivity or (forgive the use) "political correctness".

 

[Toni]

Is "Siouxper drunk" really comparable to those?

Just in case you don't know, "Drunken Indian" is akin to "Nigger" in North Dakota.

The reaction is worse than the offense in my opinion.

Actually, it's pretty comparable across the upper Midwest although in my (98.something percent white) corner of the upper midwest, it is really considered to be quite acceptable to some ( 98.something percent) people to make such remarks. "Dirty Indian" is another one that I've heard.

Which is why I asked my question about other offensive epithets. Not everyone will understand that it is offensive or why--or that the intent is to be offensive. It's not a lot different than how blacks have been treated --openly--in the South. I realized not everyone would get the level of offense in this 'harmless' display of tastelessness. What if the students attended Georgia Tech and were wearing t shirts proclaiming white power or the Confederate flag? Or a burning cross? A noose hanging from a tree?

For the most part, I agree that the students have a right to be offensive and tasteless. However, if the students are clearly representing themselves as students of UMD while wearing the offending garments, then I think the university has a right and a responsibility to take some action.

 

[J842P]

What if the shirts had used the word Nigger or Kike or Faggot or Spic?

Then they still shouldn't be punished by the University, and certainly not expelled.

 

[Celldweller]

Sliding down the slippery slope. And here we have an Engineering major, sporting a nice T (at a university) clearly meant to offend all those not like him. Offensive? Expellable? Slide, slide, slide.

 

[doubtingt]

Just in case you don't know, "Drunken Indian" is akin to "Nigger" in North Dakota.

The reaction is worse than the offense in my opinion.

Actually, it's pretty comparable across the upper Midwest although in my (98.something percent white) corner of the upper midwest, it is really considered to be quite acceptable to some ( 98.something percent) people to make such remarks. "Dirty Indian" is another one that I've heard.

Which is why I asked my question about other offensive epithets. Not everyone will understand that it is offensive or why--or that the intent is to be offensive. It's not a lot different than how blacks have been treated --openly--in the South. I realized not everyone would get the level of offense in this 'harmless' display of tastelessness. What if the students attended Georgia Tech and were wearing t shirts proclaiming white power or the Confederate flag? Or a burning cross? A noose hanging from a tree?

For the most part, I agree that the students have a right to be offensive and tasteless. However, if the students are clearly representing themselves as students of UMD while wearing the offending garments, then I think the university has a right and a responsibility to take some action.

"Drunken Indian" might be comparable but "Siouxper Drunk" is not. The latter is not a reference to the idea that members of the Sioux nation are drunks. It is a play on words referring to the shirt wearer themselves as being drunk and a partier and a student at a school tied to a Sioux mascot. It was during the Springfest which is nothing but an outoor party of drunken college kids who every year groups make up t-shirts to celebrate their drunkenness. Last year, you could order this shirt on facebook for the event:

They are brainless fratboys and sororiety girls and many bars and stores get busted every year for selling to minors. If the University is at all Sponsoring the event, that is the bigger story here.

 

[RavenSky]

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

 

[Toni]

Just in case you don't know, "Drunken Indian" is akin to "Nigger" in North Dakota.

The reaction is worse than the offense in my opinion.

Actually, it's pretty comparable across the upper Midwest although in my (98.something percent white) corner of the upper midwest, it is really considered to be quite acceptable to some ( 98.something percent) people to make such remarks. "Dirty Indian" is another one that I've heard.

Which is why I asked my question about other offensive epithets. Not everyone will understand that it is offensive or why--or that the intent is to be offensive. It's not a lot different than how blacks have been treated --openly--in the South. I realized not everyone would get the level of offense in this 'harmless' display of tastelessness. What if the students attended Georgia Tech and were wearing t shirts proclaiming white power or the Confederate flag? Or a burning cross? A noose hanging from a tree?

For the most part, I agree that the students have a right to be offensive and tasteless. However, if the students are clearly representing themselves as students of UMD while wearing the offending garments, then I think the university has a right and a responsibility to take some action.

"Drunken Indian" might be comparable but "Siouxper Drunk" is not. The latter is not a reference to the idea that members of the Sioux nation are drunks. It is a play on words referring to the shirt wearer themselves as being drunk and a partier and a student at a school tied to a Sioux mascot. It was during the Springfest which is nothing but an outoor party of drunken college kids who every year groups make up t-shirts to celebrate their drunkenness. Last year,

You are incorrect: Sioux refers to a Nation of Native Americans. Further, many Dakota find the term "Sioux" to be offensive in and of itself.

http://spot.colorado.edu/~koontz/faq/etymology.htm

What is the origin of the word Sioux?

Essentially, Sioux is a truncation of a longer form, Nadouessioux, used as a sort of slang alternative in colonial French for the longer term. Such truncated slang forms were used commonly in colonial French, and several of them have found their way into English; for example, Sioux for Nadouessioux (also English Nadowessie, etc.), Kaw (from Can) for Cansez (English Kansas or Kansa), and Ree (from Ris) for Arikaris (English Arikara or Arikaree).

The original source for Nadouessioux (a French spelling) is the Ojibwa pejorative-diminutive form Na:towe:ssiw (to use a conservative Ojibwa dialect spelling) or Naadwesi (to use a modern Odawa dialect spelling), referring to Siouan peoples and particularly to Dakota speakers. There is a related, non-diminutive form Na:towe: (Odawa dialect Naadwe, Cree Na:towe:w), referring to the Iroquois. Sometimes the terms are confused or reversed in modern usage. The pejorative-diminutive form also refers in Ojibwa to the massasauga, a small rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) of the upper Midwestern US and adjacent Canada.

A pejorative-diminutive form is one that combines the sense of bad/unappealing (pejorative) and small (diminutive). In English obscenities usually provide the equivalent of a pejorative, while -y or -ie (Billy, Janie) is a diminutive suffix. So is -kin, as in 'munchkin.' 'Little', nominally a diminutive adjective, can have a pejorative sense, as in, "You have a little problem, you little [obscenity deleted]?"

The t shirts are indeed a reference to the idea that members of the Sioux nation are drunks which apparently students who attend UND feel entitled to promote as hard drinking members of the student body at a school which until quite recently was associated with a racially insensitive mascot.

 

[doubtingt]

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

Yes, I imagine some would still find it offensive since Sioux city derives its name from the Sioux Tribe. But that illustrates the point that the level of offense is not the same as the level of racist intent. These students would likely wear the shirt you describe if they went to Sioux City college but they wouldn't wear a shirt that said "Sioux Indians are drunks" because while more directly racist it doesn't convey the intended message of "I go to a college related to the word Sioux and I am freakin' wasted"

 

[Toni]

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

If I were from Sioux City and over the age of say, 25, I might be offended. But the offense isn't racially based.

 

[RavenSky]

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

Yes, I imagine some would still find it offensive since Sioux city derives its name from the Sioux Tribe. But that illustrates the point that the level of offense is not the same as the level of racist intent. These students would likely wear the shirt you describe if they went to Sioux City college but they wouldn't wear a shirt that said "Sioux Indians are drunks" because while more directly racist it doesn't convey the intended message of "I go to a college related to the word Sioux and I am freakin' wasted"

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

If I were from Sioux City and over the age of say, 25, I might be offended. But the offense isn't racially based.

Is the one at UND racially based? Or is it based on the historic school mascot that was only retired two years ago?

My point being, while it probably should be made clear to the students that the old mascot is not to be used under any circumstances, yelling for the expulsions seems way over the top to me on this one.

 

[doubtingt]

Just in case you don't know, "Drunken Indian" is akin to "Nigger" in North Dakota.

The reaction is worse than the offense in my opinion.

Actually, it's pretty comparable across the upper Midwest although in my (98.something percent white) corner of the upper midwest, it is really considered to be quite acceptable to some ( 98.something percent) people to make such remarks. "Dirty Indian" is another one that I've heard.

Which is why I asked my question about other offensive epithets. Not everyone will understand that it is offensive or why--or that the intent is to be offensive. It's not a lot different than how blacks have been treated --openly--in the South. I realized not everyone would get the level of offense in this 'harmless' display of tastelessness. What if the students attended Georgia Tech and were wearing t shirts proclaiming white power or the Confederate flag? Or a burning cross? A noose hanging from a tree?

For the most part, I agree that the students have a right to be offensive and tasteless. However, if the students are clearly representing themselves as students of UMD while wearing the offending garments, then I think the university has a right and a responsibility to take some action.

"Drunken Indian" might be comparable but "Siouxper Drunk" is not. The latter is not a reference to the idea that members of the Sioux nation are drunks. It is a play on words referring to the shirt wearer themselves as being drunk and a partier and a student at a school tied to a Sioux mascot. It was during the Springfest which is nothing but an outoor party of drunken college kids who every year groups make up t-shirts to celebrate their drunkenness. Last year,

You are incorrect: Sioux refers to a Nation of Native Americans. Further, many Dakota find the term "Sioux" to be offensive in and of itself.

This is no way contradicts anything I said, and especially has no relevance to the meat of the issue that they shirt is a play on the word Sioux to which UND has a long standing connection up until 2 years ago.

What is the origin of the word Sioux?

Essentially, Sioux is a truncation of a longer form, Nadouessioux, used as a sort of slang alternative in colonial French for the longer term. Such truncated slang forms were used commonly in colonial French, and several of them have found their way into English; for example, Sioux for Nadouessioux (also English Nadowessie, etc.), Kaw (from Can) for Cansez (English Kansas or Kansa), and Ree (from Ris) for Arikaris (English Arikara or Arikaree).

The original source for Nadouessioux (a French spelling) is the Ojibwa pejorative-diminutive form Na:towe:ssiw (to use a conservative Ojibwa dialect spelling) or Naadwesi (to use a modern Odawa dialect spelling), referring to Siouan peoples and particularly to Dakota speakers. There is a related, non-diminutive form Na:towe: (Odawa dialect Naadwe, Cree Na:towe:w), referring to the Iroquois. Sometimes the terms are confused or reversed in modern usage. The pejorative-diminutive form also refers in Ojibwa to the massasauga, a small rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) of the upper Midwestern US and adjacent Canada.

A pejorative-diminutive form is one that combines the sense of bad/unappealing (pejorative) and small (diminutive). In English obscenities usually provide the equivalent of a pejorative, while -y or -ie (Billy, Janie) is a diminutive suffix. So is -kin, as in 'munchkin.' 'Little', nominally a diminutive adjective, can have a pejorative sense, as in, "You have a little problem, you little [obscenity deleted]?"

Yeah, absolutely none of that is relevant to this particular case. Given how widespread that term is denoting numerous cities and landmarks and on related t-shirts the simple inclusion of the word Sioux only makes these shirts as offensive as one from the Sioux Falls gift shop.

 

[Celldweller]

Yes, I imagine some would still find it offensive since Sioux city derives its name from the Sioux Tribe. But that illustrates the point that the level of offense is not the same as the level of racist intent. These students would likely wear the shirt you describe if they went to Sioux City college but they wouldn't wear a shirt that said "Sioux Indians are drunks" because while more directly racist it doesn't convey the intended message of "I go to a college related to the word Sioux and I am freakin' wasted"

Agreed, 100%. We're talking 18-21 y/o's here. Given the historical reference ToniB posted, I would say:

A) I'd be shocked if anyone outside of Native American History majors know this and..
B) Would even care.

Expulsion, no. The public blowback from the Sioux is enough for these kids and if these students need to tuck their tail between their legs, burn their little shirts and be reprimanded by the school then I'd say, so be it. There's another kegger next weekend at the Pi Phi house anyway. Maybe they should invite the offended Sioux over for a drink.

 

[Toni]

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

Yes, I imagine some would still find it offensive since Sioux city derives its name from the Sioux Tribe. But that illustrates the point that the level of offense is not the same as the level of racist intent. These students would likely wear the shirt you describe if they went to Sioux City college but they wouldn't wear a shirt that said "Sioux Indians are drunks" because while more directly racist it doesn't convey the intended message of "I go to a college related to the word Sioux and I am freakin' wasted"

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

If I were from Sioux City and over the age of say, 25, I might be offended. But the offense isn't racially based.

Is the one at UND racially based? Or is it based on the historic school mascot that was only retired two years ago?

My point being, while it probably should be made clear to the students that the old mascot is not to be used under any circumstances, yelling for the expulsions seems way over the top to me on this one.

Clearly it is impossible to separate the former school mascot from the racially based derogatory term as the mascot was in fact based upon a racially derogatory term and image.

I agree that calling for expulsion is probably too harsh.

- - - Updated - - -

Just in case you don't know, "Drunken Indian" is akin to "Nigger" in North Dakota.

The reaction is worse than the offense in my opinion.

Actually, it's pretty comparable across the upper Midwest although in my (98.something percent white) corner of the upper midwest, it is really considered to be quite acceptable to some ( 98.something percent) people to make such remarks. "Dirty Indian" is another one that I've heard.

Which is why I asked my question about other offensive epithets. Not everyone will understand that it is offensive or why--or that the intent is to be offensive. It's not a lot different than how blacks have been treated --openly--in the South. I realized not everyone would get the level of offense in this 'harmless' display of tastelessness. What if the students attended Georgia Tech and were wearing t shirts proclaiming white power or the Confederate flag? Or a burning cross? A noose hanging from a tree?

For the most part, I agree that the students have a right to be offensive and tasteless. However, if the students are clearly representing themselves as students of UMD while wearing the offending garments, then I think the university has a right and a responsibility to take some action.

"Drunken Indian" might be comparable but "Siouxper Drunk" is not. The latter is not a reference to the idea that members of the Sioux nation are drunks. It is a play on words referring to the shirt wearer themselves as being drunk and a partier and a student at a school tied to a Sioux mascot. It was during the Springfest which is nothing but an outoor party of drunken college kids who every year groups make up t-shirts to celebrate their drunkenness. Last year,

You are incorrect: Sioux refers to a Nation of Native Americans. Further, many Dakota find the term "Sioux" to be offensive in and of itself.

This is no way contradicts anything I said, and especially has no relevance to the meat of the issue that they shirt is a play on the word Sioux to which UND has a long standing connection up until 2 years ago.

What is the origin of the word Sioux?

Essentially, Sioux is a truncation of a longer form, Nadouessioux, used as a sort of slang alternative in colonial French for the longer term. Such truncated slang forms were used commonly in colonial French, and several of them have found their way into English; for example, Sioux for Nadouessioux (also English Nadowessie, etc.), Kaw (from Can) for Cansez (English Kansas or Kansa), and Ree (from Ris) for Arikaris (English Arikara or Arikaree).

The original source for Nadouessioux (a French spelling) is the Ojibwa pejorative-diminutive form Na:towe:ssiw (to use a conservative Ojibwa dialect spelling) or Naadwesi (to use a modern Odawa dialect spelling), referring to Siouan peoples and particularly to Dakota speakers. There is a related, non-diminutive form Na:towe: (Odawa dialect Naadwe, Cree Na:towe:w), referring to the Iroquois. Sometimes the terms are confused or reversed in modern usage. The pejorative-diminutive form also refers in Ojibwa to the massasauga, a small rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) of the upper Midwestern US and adjacent Canada.

A pejorative-diminutive form is one that combines the sense of bad/unappealing (pejorative) and small (diminutive). In English obscenities usually provide the equivalent of a pejorative, while -y or -ie (Billy, Janie) is a diminutive suffix. So is -kin, as in 'munchkin.' 'Little', nominally a diminutive adjective, can have a pejorative sense, as in, "You have a little problem, you little [obscenity deleted]?"

Yeah, absolutely none of that is relevant to this particular case. Given how widespread that term is denoting numerous cities and landmarks and on related t-shirts the simple inclusion of the word Sioux only makes these shirts as offensive as one from the Sioux Falls gift shop.

Your logic is as tortured as the logic of Rick Perry's family and his defense of the name of their hunting camp.

 

[doubtingt]

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

Yes, I imagine some would still find it offensive since Sioux city derives its name from the Sioux Tribe. But that illustrates the point that the level of offense is not the same as the level of racist intent. These students would likely wear the shirt you describe if they went to Sioux City college but they wouldn't wear a shirt that said "Sioux Indians are drunks" because while more directly racist it doesn't convey the intended message of "I go to a college related to the word Sioux and I am freakin' wasted"

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

If I were from Sioux City and over the age of say, 25, I might be offended. But the offense isn't racially based.

Is the one at UND racially based? Or is it based on the historic school mascot that was only retired two years ago?

My point being, while it probably should be made clear to the students that the old mascot is not to be used under any circumstances, yelling for the expulsions seems way over the top to me on this one.

Clearly it is impossible to separate the former school mascot from the racially based derogatory term as the mascot was in fact based upon a racially derogatory term and image.

I agree that calling for expulsion is probably too harsh.

- - - Updated - - -

Just in case you don't know, "Drunken Indian" is akin to "Nigger" in North Dakota.

The reaction is worse than the offense in my opinion.

Actually, it's pretty comparable across the upper Midwest although in my (98.something percent white) corner of the upper midwest, it is really considered to be quite acceptable to some ( 98.something percent) people to make such remarks. "Dirty Indian" is another one that I've heard.

Which is why I asked my question about other offensive epithets. Not everyone will understand that it is offensive or why--or that the intent is to be offensive. It's not a lot different than how blacks have been treated --openly--in the South. I realized not everyone would get the level of offense in this 'harmless' display of tastelessness. What if the students attended Georgia Tech and were wearing t shirts proclaiming white power or the Confederate flag? Or a burning cross? A noose hanging from a tree?

For the most part, I agree that the students have a right to be offensive and tasteless. However, if the students are clearly representing themselves as students of UMD while wearing the offending garments, then I think the university has a right and a responsibility to take some action.

"Drunken Indian" might be comparable but "Siouxper Drunk" is not. The latter is not a reference to the idea that members of the Sioux nation are drunks. It is a play on words referring to the shirt wearer themselves as being drunk and a partier and a student at a school tied to a Sioux mascot. It was during the Springfest which is nothing but an outoor party of drunken college kids who every year groups make up t-shirts to celebrate their drunkenness. Last year,

You are incorrect: Sioux refers to a Nation of Native Americans. Further, many Dakota find the term "Sioux" to be offensive in and of itself.

This is no way contradicts anything I said, and especially has no relevance to the meat of the issue that they shirt is a play on the word Sioux to which UND has a long standing connection up until 2 years ago.

What is the origin of the word Sioux?

Essentially, Sioux is a truncation of a longer form, Nadouessioux, used as a sort of slang alternative in colonial French for the longer term. Such truncated slang forms were used commonly in colonial French, and several of them have found their way into English; for example, Sioux for Nadouessioux (also English Nadowessie, etc.), Kaw (from Can) for Cansez (English Kansas or Kansa), and Ree (from Ris) for Arikaris (English Arikara or Arikaree).

The original source for Nadouessioux (a French spelling) is the Ojibwa pejorative-diminutive form Na:towe:ssiw (to use a conservative Ojibwa dialect spelling) or Naadwesi (to use a modern Odawa dialect spelling), referring to Siouan peoples and particularly to Dakota speakers. There is a related, non-diminutive form Na:towe: (Odawa dialect Naadwe, Cree Na:towe:w), referring to the Iroquois. Sometimes the terms are confused or reversed in modern usage. The pejorative-diminutive form also refers in Ojibwa to the massasauga, a small rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) of the upper Midwestern US and adjacent Canada.

A pejorative-diminutive form is one that combines the sense of bad/unappealing (pejorative) and small (diminutive). In English obscenities usually provide the equivalent of a pejorative, while -y or -ie (Billy, Janie) is a diminutive suffix. So is -kin, as in 'munchkin.' 'Little', nominally a diminutive adjective, can have a pejorative sense, as in, "You have a little problem, you little [obscenity deleted]?"

Yeah, absolutely none of that is relevant to this particular case. Given how widespread that term is denoting numerous cities and landmarks and on related t-shirts the simple inclusion of the word Sioux only makes these shirts as offensive as one from the Sioux Falls gift shop.

Your logic is as tortured as the logic of Rick Perry's family and his defense of the name of their hunting camp.

There is no logic whatever to your purely emotional response. You completely ignore all facts and reasonable assumptions related to what these shirts were intended to convey. Your "argument" amounts to nothing more than "The word Sioux is on there along with a reference to drunkenness, so they must be claiming all Sioux people are drunks". Not to mention you just got through making the meaningless point that the word Sioux in general is pejorative and that makes the shirt even more offensive, then in the next breath said that a shirt with "Siouxper drunk" would not be offensive if in reference to being a resident of Sioux City which just like the UND mascot was named in reference to the Sioux indians.
Yes, the shirt in question is offensive, but if they shirt had been made by students at U of South Dakota whose mascot is the Coyotes, then it would be a straight out intended racist slur because it would have no relevance to the wearer themselves as belonging to a group tied to the Sioux name. It's stunning that you cannot comprehend that simple but critical difference.

 

[Toni]

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

Yes, I imagine some would still find it offensive since Sioux city derives its name from the Sioux Tribe. But that illustrates the point that the level of offense is not the same as the level of racist intent. These students would likely wear the shirt you describe if they went to Sioux City college but they wouldn't wear a shirt that said "Sioux Indians are drunks" because while more directly racist it doesn't convey the intended message of "I go to a college related to the word Sioux and I am freakin' wasted"

Would the shirt have been offensive if the party had been in Sioux City and had used a map of Iowa instead of the old UND mascot?

If I were from Sioux City and over the age of say, 25, I might be offended. But the offense isn't racially based.

Is the one at UND racially based? Or is it based on the historic school mascot that was only retired two years ago?

My point being, while it probably should be made clear to the students that the old mascot is not to be used under any circumstances, yelling for the expulsions seems way over the top to me on this one.

Clearly it is impossible to separate the former school mascot from the racially based derogatory term as the mascot was in fact based upon a racially derogatory term and image.

I agree that calling for expulsion is probably too harsh.

- - - Updated - - -

Just in case you don't know, "Drunken Indian" is akin to "Nigger" in North Dakota.

The reaction is worse than the offense in my opinion.

Actually, it's pretty comparable across the upper Midwest although in my (98.something percent white) corner of the upper midwest, it is really considered to be quite acceptable to some ( 98.something percent) people to make such remarks. "Dirty Indian" is another one that I've heard.

Which is why I asked my question about other offensive epithets. Not everyone will understand that it is offensive or why--or that the intent is to be offensive. It's not a lot different than how blacks have been treated --openly--in the South. I realized not everyone would get the level of offense in this 'harmless' display of tastelessness. What if the students attended Georgia Tech and were wearing t shirts proclaiming white power or the Confederate flag? Or a burning cross? A noose hanging from a tree?

For the most part, I agree that the students have a right to be offensive and tasteless. However, if the students are clearly representing themselves as students of UMD while wearing the offending garments, then I think the university has a right and a responsibility to take some action.

"Drunken Indian" might be comparable but "Siouxper Drunk" is not. The latter is not a reference to the idea that members of the Sioux nation are drunks. It is a play on words referring to the shirt wearer themselves as being drunk and a partier and a student at a school tied to a Sioux mascot. It was during the Springfest which is nothing but an outoor party of drunken college kids who every year groups make up t-shirts to celebrate their drunkenness. Last year,

You are incorrect: Sioux refers to a Nation of Native Americans. Further, many Dakota find the term "Sioux" to be offensive in and of itself.

This is no way contradicts anything I said, and especially has no relevance to the meat of the issue that they shirt is a play on the word Sioux to which UND has a long standing connection up until 2 years ago.

What is the origin of the word Sioux?

Essentially, Sioux is a truncation of a longer form, Nadouessioux, used as a sort of slang alternative in colonial French for the longer term. Such truncated slang forms were used commonly in colonial French, and several of them have found their way into English; for example, Sioux for Nadouessioux (also English Nadowessie, etc.), Kaw (from Can) for Cansez (English Kansas or Kansa), and Ree (from Ris) for Arikaris (English Arikara or Arikaree).

The original source for Nadouessioux (a French spelling) is the Ojibwa pejorative-diminutive form Na:towe:ssiw (to use a conservative Ojibwa dialect spelling) or Naadwesi (to use a modern Odawa dialect spelling), referring to Siouan peoples and particularly to Dakota speakers. There is a related, non-diminutive form Na:towe: (Odawa dialect Naadwe, Cree Na:towe:w), referring to the Iroquois. Sometimes the terms are confused or reversed in modern usage. The pejorative-diminutive form also refers in Ojibwa to the massasauga, a small rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) of the upper Midwestern US and adjacent Canada.

A pejorative-diminutive form is one that combines the sense of bad/unappealing (pejorative) and small (diminutive). In English obscenities usually provide the equivalent of a pejorative, while -y or -ie (Billy, Janie) is a diminutive suffix. So is -kin, as in 'munchkin.' 'Little', nominally a diminutive adjective, can have a pejorative sense, as in, "You have a little problem, you little [obscenity deleted]?"

Yeah, absolutely none of that is relevant to this particular case. Given how widespread that term is denoting numerous cities and landmarks and on related t-shirts the simple inclusion of the word Sioux only makes these shirts as offensive as one from the Sioux Falls gift shop.

Your logic is as tortured as the logic of Rick Perry's family and his defense of the name of their hunting camp.

There is no logic whatever to your purely emotional response. You completely ignore all facts and reasonable assumptions related to what these shirts were intended to convey. Your "argument" amounts to nothing more than "The word Sioux is on there along with a reference to drunkenness, so they must be claiming all Sioux people are drunks". Not to mention you just got through making the meaningless point that the word Sioux in general is pejorative and that makes the shirt even more offensive, then in the next breath said that a shirt with "Siouxper drunk" would not be offensive if in reference to being a resident of Sioux City which just like the UND mascot was named in reference to the Sioux indians.
Yes, the shirt in question is offensive, but if they shirt had been made by students at U of South Dakota whose mascot is the Coyotes, then it would be a straight out intended racist slur because it would have no relevance to the wearer themselves as belonging to a group tied to the Sioux name. It's stunning that you cannot comprehend that simple but critical difference.

Actually, I think you need to go back and read again what I said about whether I would be offended if it were about Sioux City.

As for your allegations that my response is 'emotional': Why not just admit that you don't follow my logic or agree with it instead of hurling an insult that is founded on your own emotional response to someone who does not yield to your POV.

Your logic is missing entirely: the t-shirts were ordered and worn by UMD students and clearly depict an offensive image of a Native American, made more offensive by the depiction of the beer bong. Even more offensive is the term " Siouxper Drunk."