winters in buffalo Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 From the January 12th News & Observer, Raleigh, NC:http://www.newsobserver.com/news/education...p-8401754c.html School enlists a new warriorGranville school will retire its American Indian mascot. A new mascot allows Webb High School in Oxford to retain the Warriors name. By TIM SIMMONS, Staff WriterNearly 30 years after it was introduced, the American Indian mascot of Webb High School will graduate with the class of 2005.In its place, students at the Granville County school in Oxford will be rooting for a futuristic warrior complete with rippling muscles, shining sword and no cultural ties.Principal Roy Winslow said the decision allows the school and its sports teams to retain the Warriors name without using imagery that many people find offensive."I suggested to the students last spring that we needed to make a change," Winslow said. "It's a good compromise." State educators do not have the authority to ban schools from using Indian mascots, but the State Board of Education approved a resolution in 2002 strongly discouraging them.Those who continue to use such mascots must annually review the "educational, curricular and psychological effects" and review the use of "all demeaning imagery," according to the board's resolution."The message from the state was pretty clear," Winslow said.J.F. Webb High is the 11th school to retire its Indian mascot since then.More than 40 schools still use such mascots, according to a count kept by state officials. The group includes Louisburg High School in Franklin County and Meadow School in Johnston County. North Carolina has more than 2,200 public schools."We wish it were happening faster, but we are not out to alienate people," said Louise Maynor, chairwoman of the state Advisory Council on Indian Education. "People don't realize how easy it is to be demeaning when American Indian mascots are used in the sports arena. It's easy to be critical of the other team. It's almost as though it is sanctioned."Maynor said that is one reason she is pleased to see a high school make the change."High schools always have a higher profile in the community," she said.But in Oxford, about 40 miles north of Raleigh, Winslow said, the discussion about using a different type of Warrior interested students far more than community members."It wasn't that big of an issue in the community," he said.Once it was determined that the school would keep the Warriors name, Winslow asked local artist Grey Blackwell to work with the school on a new design. Blackwell, a 1988 graduate who is also the graphics editor at The News & Observer, did the work for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Survival79 Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 Um... is his face a W? "If things have gone wrong, I'm talking to myself, and you've got a wet towel wrapped around your head." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winters in buffalo Posted January 15, 2005 Author Share Posted January 15, 2005 Um... is his face a W? Indeed, it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColeJ Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 good thing he did that for free, because it's awful...i personally see nothing wrong with the name "warriors" when associated with native american themes, and i've got some pretty significant native heritage... in fact, without anyone flaming me for my personal opinion, i think the washington redskins should change their name to the washington warriors, and keep the same uniforms, logos, and everything else... redskins is a racial slur, and is offensive. warriors isn't offensive in any way. it's respectful.just because no one on the team is actually a native american warrior doesn't mean they can't name their team that. the captain of neither the montreal canadiens nor the vancouver canucks is canadian... it's just a team name.in my opinion, the only team names that could be considered wrong, that are currently in use, would be the redskins and the indians... redskins, because it's a racial slur... similar to what would be the atlanta blackskins. just blatantly stupid... and indians, not because it's offensive, but because it's just inaccurate i wouldn't have a problem with the name if the team's logo packages were in the style of india... either way, redskins is way worse than indians, and indians is the only other name that might be considered wrong in any way.there is a great way to have a native american theme to your team without it being offensive, in my opinion... those names are warriors, blackhawks, braves, chiefs, etc...in my personal opinion, redskins need to change names, but the blackhawks have the greatest logo and uniforms in all of sports...so, to sum it all up, this school made an unneeded change... and while i haven't seen the original logo, i can assume it's much better than the new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philly97flyer Posted January 15, 2005 Share Posted January 15, 2005 I hate all this PC crap. If you offend someone, oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac the Knife Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Now if they can only rename the two halls at UNC named after former Klansmen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 I hate all this PC crap. If you offend someone, oh well. "hah, I say, good sir, to have these 'Washington Redskins' is akin to the 'New York :censored:s!' Oh, how I'd love to see the reaction to THAT, you hamburger-eaters!"Thing is, it isn't. I don't think "redskin" has been actively used as a racial slur in YEARS. It's pretty antiquated at this point, and contrary to what p.c. liberals say, it's NOT the same as :censored:s, spics, chinks, gooks, or dagoes. So they can just quietly drop that. Or politely ask the Washington Redskins fanbase if they'd mind changing that.(I do have to laugh at the fact that Redskins is maintained and the freakin' BULLETS were killed by the p.c. police. Oh man.) ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicfurth Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Ooh, it's Mysterio!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMU Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 My school was the warriors, and we were classy. We had "west" painted on the gym with a spear on it, the uniforms had spears on the sleeves, and our drill team wore headdresses during parades. Nothing offensive about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMU Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Ooh, it's Mysterio!!! so is he: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slickster Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Who's that jumpin' out the sky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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