North Dakota State’s fight song “The Yellow and the Green” is under review, but a timeline has been established for when said review should be completed.

Media relations coordinator Sadie Rudolph said the advisory board put together to review and give recommendation to the school song, penned in 1907 by A.E. Minard, is set to be done with its review by the end of the semester.

The song, adopted in 1908, first came into public controversy on Feb. 24 when President Dean Bresciani sent a Listserv informing the campus of his awareness that the song contained non-contemporary language, including its third stanza, which includes the phrase “red man.”

Bresciani said he was not originally aware of the lyrics beyond the first stanza, with many students and staff members also not aware of the latter part of the song.

Jaclynn Davis-Wallette, director of multicultural programs, and Donald Warne, chair of NDSU’s public health department and the American Indian Public Health Resource Center, were both unaware of the song beyond the first stanza until the controversy arose.

Davis-Wallette said she first learned of the latter part of the song when one of her staff members went to an anti-racism rapid response meeting where the bias and bigotry report about the school song was discussed.

Following the meeting, she said she reviewed the song in its entirety when NDSU had it published online.

“I think, you know, when it was written, I don’t think it was written with any negative intent in mind, but the world was very different back in that time frame,” Warne said, adding, “and as a society we’ve moved forward and recognized that as we’re trying to evolve into a more cohesive community that terms that were once acceptable that are now not acceptable should be addressed to recognize evolution in time.

“And how, even if a word was acceptable historically, if not acceptable now it should not be a part of a wonderful institution like NDSU.”

Davis-Wallette said the song “references a … time in history when native people were being removed and eliminated from this country.

“First of all, I think a school song shouldn’t bring harm to people, to any group, and having these discussions about the song and those lyrics is healthy and important,” Davis-Wallette said.