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UNLV ‘Hey Reb!’ Statue Removed, Mascot Change in Consideration

The statue was taken down after complaints from Native American students who said the western settler mascot recalled a dark time in history.

The University of Nevada Las Vegas removed a statue of its Rebels mascot Tuesday following at least a year of complaints by Native American students who urged the school to remove the statue. The “Hey Reb!” statue had been put in place outside the Tam Alumni Center in 2007. The university said it was a reference to western settlers and not Confederates, despite the statue’s name. The Native American Association at the university said the statue represented a dark time for their ancestors, and the university is now also considering changing its mascot, according to UNLV President Marta Meana. Before becoming the Rebels, the university’s mascot was once a cartoon wolf in a Confederate uniform. The university made the shift to “Hey Reb!” in the 1980s.