More than 15 years ago, Athletic Director Barry Alvarez and Rayovac artist Rick Sucharek teamed up to develop the ""Motion W"" logo we currently associate with UW-Madison athletics.
Now, more than 20 schools, including Waukee High School in Iowa and Weston High School in Wisconsin, are being punished for the use of this supposedly sacred symbol.
Though the logo's rights legally belong to UW-Madison, the pandemonium presently surrounding its use is completely unnecessary. While the Weston ‘W' is considered to be an exact replication of the Wisconsin ‘W', Waukee High School made modifications to combine the ""motion"" and ""block"" ‘W's' in order to escape copyright infringement.
This is the second time Waukee has been demanded to alter its logo after their previous indian warrior logo was criticized for racial insensitivity.
Modifications and color changes, however, have not convinced UW-Madison that the high schools' logos represent appropriate variations of the ‘Motion W.'
Yet, the ‘block W' used by the University of Washington and a number of other schools in the nation has avoided any similar scrutiny. There are only so many variations of the letter available to schools that might be deemed acceptable by UW-Madison.
When the motives of UW-Madison were questioned by the targeted high schools, UW Licensing Director Cindy Van Matre compared the issue of copyright to plagiarizing and advised the schools to use the situation to teach students a lesson.
The comparison, which exaggerates the modified use of the logo, not only fails to teach the repercussions of plagiarism, it encourages students to pursue trivial issues based on invalid arguments.
For Weston High School, the logo controversy could not come at a worse time, following recent school shooting which resulted in the death of their beloved principal.
Now, both Waukee and Weston must face the task of designing a new logo, which involves spending an undetermined amount of money to replace the design on district vehicles and gymnasium floors, uniforms and letterhead.
Forcing the schools to spend their budget on such changes is not only unreasonable, it will also reduce the funds Weston and Waukee could more efficiently use for the improvement of educational programs.
UW-Madison must bear in mind the financial burden it is placing on these schools while also acknowledging that the previous logo will take time to be phased out.
The immediate action being requested by university officials does not take into consideration the scope of alterations that must be made in order for our athletic department to remain distinguished by a simple logo.
Inconveniencing nearly 20 institutions on the basis of one letter is an embarrassment to all those who associate themselves with UW-Madison.
The logo featured in these schools, which on most occasions is similar, not identical to ours, should not be taking precedence when there are so many more significant issues to resolve.
If UW-Madison is determined to exercise the strength of the Athletic Department, it should be carried out on the playing field, not by the PR licensing department.
