Group urges board to set up panel to probe mascot change issue
EAST MARLBOROUGH » Unionville school directors have no intention of discussing the future of the Indian mascot, but that didn’t stop a group of parents and some former students to urge the board to create a coalition to discuss the matter at a school board meeting Monday night.
The issue arose several months ago with the formation of a student-led group called The Identity Council. However, after a firestorm erupted on social media, meetings were cancelled and now a group of people want to form a committee comprised of students, alumni, school directors and community members.
“The Identity Council is simply a student group, not a decision-making body,” said Vic Dupuis, school director. “It is not an authoritarian body that will have anything to say about our school. They can certainly make recommendations but that responsibility lies with the school board. This board has no intention to do anything with this particular subject.”
Dupuis said the board plans no vote and no discussion on the topic.
However, even though it wasn’t on the agenda, a small group used the three minutes each person was allotted to speak to talk about the mascot issue, with some urging board members to form a Citizens Advisory Committee.
“Your decision on what happens to the mascot cannot be delegated down to the Identity Council, said Scott Cousins of East Marlborough.
Ian Quain, president of student council at Unionville High, told the board that he fears some of the students’ voices will be silenced if a special panel is set up to study the matter.
“Adults have brought their lawyers, journalists and cameras, in an attempt to intentionally or unintentionally silence those who are not of the opinion they are,” Quain said.
Tom Pancoast of Pocopson Township, who had five of his eight children go through Unionville schools, told the board that parts of the mascot have been disappearing over the years.
“The reason why everybody is upset – whether it’s the students or the taxpayers or the parents – is the Indian head has disappeared from the gym floor and is not part of the logo anymore,” Paoncoast said. “This is something you are trying to do without anyone knowing. Who made the decision to get rid of the Indian head? It just disappeared. It used to be on all the football jerseys and letter head.”
At one time, the Unionville mascot consisted of a figure of an Indian head, but today it’s just the letter “U” with a couple of feathers.
“The school spirit is disappearing because you guys are taking it away,” Pancoast told the board. “The last few of my kids who graduated from Unionville said it was like a prison, the fun has been taken out of school. We only had one pep rally this year. It’s pretty sad. A lot people who graduated here consider themselves Unionville Indians.”
A resident of Pennsbury Township, who has a daughter on the varsity cheerleading squad at Unionville, told the board the Cheerleading Band has been instructed not to play the Tomahawk Dance. She asked the board whether policies were being implemented, but received no response.
Cousins was cut off at the end of the meeting when he continued his plea with the board to form a Citizens Advisory Committee to investigate whether or not to keep the Indian logo.
A petition at change.org called Save the Indian, urging that a Citizens Advisory Committee be set up to investigate the mascot issue, has garnered 549 signatures in less than a week.
Recently, some professional sports organizations such as the Cleveland Indians, have taken action to eliminate some references to Indians. Years ago there was even a controversy whether the Washington Redskins professional football team should change its name.