You Don’t Have to Move to Austin. The Eyes of Texas are upon you, You can not get away. Vandyke brown, vermillion, sepia, Prussian blue, Ivory black and crimson lac, and eyes of every hue. Countless as the bright stars, that fill the midnight skies. According to a 1926 Dallas Morning News column remembering her father, Prather’s daughter said the crowd roared when the president said: “I would like to paraphrase [Lee’s] utterance, and say to you, ‘Forward, young men and women of the University, the eyes of Texas are upon you!” From then on, it became Prather’s catchphrase. American History Reviews: The Eyes of Texas Are Upon This Book. They’re with you all the way. More than a century later, Texas athletes stand at attention on their field of play after every home game and sing “The Eyes.” At times, it can be a prideful, emotional moment, especially after big wins or crushing defeats. San … Robert E. Lee was the university president and would frequently remind students that “the eyes of the South are upon you.” According to Dr. Edmund T. Gordon, a professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and Anthropology at UT, the saying was Lee’s way of reminding students to work hard and to uphold Southern traditions. On Friday, UT football players formally asked for “the replacement of ‘The Eyes of Texas’ with a new song without racist undertones.”. “They’re not asking for new iPads, and we already have the best locker rooms in the country,” says Daron K. Roberts, the founder of UT’s, Center for Sports Leadership and Innovation, . You have a voice. Other people—including alumni—are resistant to the change, citing tradition. Littlefield has long been known as one of UT’s earliest and most prolific donors, and all around campus, you can still see his influence: a cafe and residence hall are named after him, and two of the campus’s most prominent landmarks are the Littlefield Home and Littlefield Fountain. We were required to. Athletics director Chris Del Conte tweeted in response to the letter: “I am always willing to have meaningful conversations regarding any concerns our student athletes have. Embracing the song’s meaning today should not stop us from seeing its complicated past, and acknowledging the many ways that people see the song. Texans' leader Sam Houston, hand extended, accepts Mexican general Santa Anna's surrender at San Jacinto, April 21, 1836. It was then performed by white singers in blackface at the Varsity minstrel show, which was a fundraiser for UT athletics in the early 1900s. His daughter recalled one instance when students were waiting to hear the president speak. At some point, the song’s origins were forgotten and “The Eyes of Texas” became the school song. They’re with you all the way. Student government and the university’s Black Student Alliance voiced their support of the statement. American-Statesman Staff, Brian Davis Fight!” It’s not clear whether this was included just for the recording, or if, in 1928, a yell was a normal prelude to singing the Eyes. He won the quarter. Take the annual Texas-Oklahoma football battle, for example. American-Statesman Staff, Kirk Bohls Texas Longhorns sing it to begin and end every UT game. Fight! "The Eyes of Texas," the official song of the University of Texas at Austin, considered by some as an unofficial state song, was first sung at a minstrel show to benefit the university track team at the Hancock Opera House in Austin on May 12, 1903. His players took that message to heart. 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