UT-San Antonio President Responds to Controversial "Come and Take It" Signage

Last week, the University of Texas at San Antonio unveiled the campus' new, state-of-art athletics facility featuring new equipment and a decorative sign that is now lighting up the entryway — and an online discourse on "racist history." 

The August 4 grand opening celebration of the Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence building had Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Athletic Director Lisa Campos, and Roadrunner student-athletes on hand. Videos shared by the UTSA Twitter account shows guests filing in to the RACE building to get a first look at the addition. Some guests stopped at the bright rectangular sign with the school logo and "Come and Take It" credo to snap a selfie. The slogan dates back to ancient Greece with King Leonidas' stand against the Persians, but it has become a hallmark for state pride for close to 200 years after the Battle of Gonzales during the Texas Revolution. 

While the sign made for a photo op for some, others are petitioning against the use of the slogan.

A change.org petition launched by UTSA professor emerita Ellen Clark is rallying signatures to "remove [the] offensive slogan steeped in racist history from the UTSA RACE Center." Clark tells MySA she launched the petition with Sarah Gould, 

"Referencing the infamous flag from the Battle of Gonzales, this is a slogan that embodies both anti-Mexican and pro-slavery sentiments," Clark writes in the description. "It has carried those white supremacist beliefs from 1835 to today, and in that time has also been widely adopted by anti-government, pro-gun extremists, such as at the January 6th insurrection at the US [Capitol]. Like the Alamo, the Gonzales flag is an open wound for many Mexican Americans, especially Mexican American Texans."