Las Vegas Sun
UNLV mascot Hey Reb holds a rubber chicken with the initials “KU” during their game against Air Force at the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Wednesday, March 13, 2013, at the Thomas & Mack.
Published Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015 | 1:02 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015 | 3:05 p.m.
Two UNLV graduates are pushing back against claims by a group of students that the university’s mascot, Hey Reb!, is a racist symbol.
James Kaikis and David Rapoport, who graduated in 2010 and 2011, respectively, launched the website keepheyreb.com on Wednesday, a day after a group of students called for dumping the mascot because of perceptions that it could be seen as celebrating the pro-slavery Confederacy.
The mascot used to be a wolf in Confederate army garb named Beauregard until a group of black athletes asked that it be changed in the 1970s. The mascot was further redesigned in the 1980s to the Hey Reb! of today.
The site calls for alumni to withhold donations from the university if Hey Reb! is removed as UNLV’s mascot. It includes a link to a petition supporters can send to UNLV President Len Jessup.
“I think the president has got quite a few emails today,” Kaikis said.
“The idea was to give a history of Hey Reb! and why he is a staple to the Las Vegas community,” said Kaikis, a physical education major who works in San Francisco as a consultant. “We believe a lot of other people have that sentiment.”
Also this week, a survey was put out by an independent diversity council within the university asking for people's opinions about the mascot.
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