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Man urges new mascots for area schools
Robert C. Reed
A request has been made for two schools in the county to change their mascots.
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Published: September 6, 2008
HICKORY - St. Stephens High and H.M. Arndt Middle schools have had their mascots for years.
In that time, the question of whether St. Stephens should be represented by the Indians and Arndt Middle as Redskins has only come up once. At the Catawba County Schools' board of education meeting last month, the question surfaced again.
Eddie Davis is chairman of An Inclusive North Carolina in Durham. He asked whether a school, which is designed to educate children and shape their minds to what the community wants all its citizens to be, should have such an offensive thing for its mascot.
"Redskins is the most blatant and disparaging of the terms to Indians. It's like using the 'N' word to blacks," said Davis, who is black himself. "If a child was bullying another and called them a 'redskin,' they would be disciplined. Why would we allow it for a mascot?"
He said he understands how schools may have used the image as a mascot initially. However, Davis said some schools across the state have used their mascots for so long, they don't even seem to realize they're offensive to some groups.
Sherry Butler, a member of the Catawba County Schools' board of education, said she remembers when the question of St. Stephens' and Arndt's mascots was initially raised by the N.C. Department of Education in 2002.
"No one in the community brought it up," she said. "If the parents and the community are saying, 'I have a problem with it,' then I can understand doing something about it, but no one came forward wanting to change it."
Davis served on the N.C. board of education from 1993 until 2001. He worked with the state under N.C. Superintendent Michael Ward, in 2002, when Ward wrote a letter to each school system, asking them to change American Indian mascots and logos.
"Over the last four to five years, many districts have taken a look at it and have changed. Over the last two years, we've hit a wall with the ones that were going to change (their mascots), and haven't," Davis said. "Since I've retired, I've formed An Inclusive North Carolina to make North Carolina more inclusive."
Although Davis is not Native American, he is friends with several. He admitted none have asked him to petition the school systems in North Carolina still using Indian themes — including Redskins, Warriors, Indians, Braves, Chiefs and others — to change their mascots.
"It's hard for me to believe the school boards and educators still allow this, when they have mission statements that talk about respect for all," Davis said. "It's the ultimate offense in a county like Catawba that's named for Indians. After the treatment they've received, they should be respected, not treated as pets or mascots."
Catawba County Schools Superintendent Tim Markley said the school system would consider the matter further after it received a letter from Davis.
"We will review the letter he said he'd send us, and we'll have a lengthy discussion with the school principals and board members," he said.
Davis sent an e-mail to all the board members, Markley and DeAnna Taylor and David Fonseca, the principals at St. Stephens High and Arndt Middle, respectively, the day after the board meeting. The e-mail outlined his request, as well as a tentative timeline the school system might consider for phasing out the mascots.
"In a few weeks, I will have a written discussion with the county," Davis said. "I will likely be back before September ends. November is Indian Heritage Month, and I suggest they use that to get things moving."
Joyce Spencer, chairwoman of the Catawba County Schools board of education, said this is something the board will study carefully.
"This is an issue the board needs to study. We will look at the position of the schools and review the community leaders' positions," she said. "We should study this. But at this point, it's impossible to take a position on it. Just because an individual feels something's appropriate, that doesn't necessarily mean there's a consensus. We need to look at what the community leaders are saying."
However, she said it's something that won't be dragged out. Spencer said Markley's already spoken with Fonseca at Arndt Middle School, as well as the school's building and leadership team.
"There will have to be some strong justification to make a change. We've never had any concern expressed with the school system in my tenure," Spencer said, adding she was employed by Catawba County Schools from 1968 to 2003 as a teacher, principal and associate superintendent before joining the board in 2004. "In 2002, the School to Schools looked at it, but it was decided that it wasn't an issue."
Davis said it may not be an issue to some, but it is offensive. Changing the mascot may ruffle a few feathers the first year, but students will come to love their new mascot.
"Kids get used to whatever the mascot is," Davis said. "You go to school for reasons other than the mascot."
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