Campus Reform correspondent and University of Wyoming law student Jessie Leach spoke out on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday, after the school’s cowboy slogan drew controversial backlash.
The college released a promotional video back in July with the tagline: “The World Needs More Cowboys.” The slogan was met with criticism and tagged as sexist, despite the school’s mascot being an actual cowboy. (RELATED: Poll: Most College Students Think PC Culture Snuffs Out Free Speech)
“As The Leadership Institute Campus Reform reports all the time, there’s an outrage culture on our campuses,” Leach said. “And everybody wants to be part of the newest outrage and a couple people at the University of Wyoming I guess just wanted a bite at that apple. And so when I heard about the controversy I had two initial reactions. And the first is that these professors are completely missing the facts.”
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“The fact is that when they claim that this slogan is sexist and that it’s xenophobic, cowboys exist all over the world. But beyond that my second reaction is that they’re completely missing the point,” she continued. “The point of the slogan is to say that the world needs more people with the cowboy spirit. And that’s the spirit of hard work, determination, self-reliance and integrity.”
Leach said faculty members complained about the tagline despite it’s popularity among the student body, and claimed it represented genocide.
“I just think it’s silly. I know that, you know, I was born and raised in Wyoming. I was born and raised Wyoming’s largest city. And I’ve never once related the words cowboy with genocide, xenophobia, anything like that,” she said.
“And, again, I go back to what the slogan is meant to be and it’s all about the spirit of the cowboy. Our communications director here at the university said that the spirit of the cowboy is not what you are but it’s who you are. And I’m so thankful that our university administration was willing to stand up to these criticisms because it’s obviously paid off. Our enrollment numbers are up for next year. And everybody wants to be a cowboy and the world needs more cowboys.”
Chad Baldwin, Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications for Wyoming University, told The Daily Caller News Foundation that the school will continue to use the slogan for the upcoming school year.
“Our marketing campaign, with the primary tagline of ‘The World Needs More Cowboys,’ is based on the university’s longtime mascot and logo,” Baldwin said in an email. “Fundamental to the campaign idea that people from all backgrounds can be considered UW Cowboys, as stated clearly in our campaign video.”
“While we recognize there are some who don’t like the tagline, the response to our campaign has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are making plans to continue with the campaign for a second year,” he concluded.
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