Post by The Admin on Jun 16, 2021 13:17:44 GMT -6
Tulsa Union school district taking new-mascot suggestions
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Union’s attendance area is entirely within the boundaries of the Muscogee Nation’s reservation, and almost 60 tribes are represented within its student body.
After the retirement vote, Union’s sports teams simply competed as Union, without a mascot or nickname, for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
Chris Payne, a Union spokesman, said a common desire from students, parents and staff is a new mascot that represents the district as a whole, rather than just its sports teams.
“We want to use this feedback — along with the district’s core values — to inspire Union supporters to come up with the best new mascot for our district,” he said. “We want a new mascot that will represent Union well for the next 100 years.”Union Public Schools is looking for an assist as it considers options for a new mascot.
On Wednesday, the district announced it is accepting suggestions through 5 p.m. on July 16 through its website (http://www.unionps.org/mascot).
Along with a mandatory explanation for why the nomination is a good fit for the district, submissions can include artwork of the potential new mascot and related emblems. Based on community feedback, the district will retain its primary red and black color scheme with white and silver as secondary colors.
A selection timeline is still under development.
Union previously shared a mascot with the professional football team in Washington, D.C. Union’s board of education voted unanimously in November to retire it after a review was conducted by an ad hoc committee of alumni, students, parents, district employees, community members, the district’s Indian Education Parent Committee and non-voting representatives from the Cherokee and Muscogee nations.
The retirement vote also extended to the accompanying branding, logos and imagery involving Indigenous stereotypes, including having football players run through a tipi at home games.
Among the factors taken into consideration by the committee in its retirement recommendation were the word’s dictionary definition, the potential long-term financial impacts on the district and academic research on the harmful impact of Native-themed mascots on Indigenous students.
After the retirement vote, Union’s sports teams simply competed as Union, without a mascot or nickname, for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
Chris Payne, a Union spokesman, said a common desire from students, parents and staff is a new mascot that represents the district as a whole, rather than just its sports teams.
“We want to use this feedback — along with the district’s core values — to inspire Union supporters to come up with the best new mascot for our district,” he said. “We want a new mascot that will represent Union well for the next 100 years.”Union Public Schools is looking for an assist as it considers options for a new mascot.
On Wednesday, the district announced it is accepting suggestions through 5 p.m. on July 16 through its website (http://www.unionps.org/mascot).
Along with a mandatory explanation for why the nomination is a good fit for the district, submissions can include artwork of the potential new mascot and related emblems. Based on community feedback, the district will retain its primary red and black color scheme with white and silver as secondary colors.
A selection timeline is still under development.
Union previously shared a mascot with the professional football team in Washington, D.C. Union’s board of education voted unanimously in November to retire it after a review was conducted by an ad hoc committee of alumni, students, parents, district employees, community members, the district’s Indian Education Parent Committee and non-voting representatives from the Cherokee and Muscogee nations.
The retirement vote also extended to the accompanying branding, logos and imagery involving Indigenous stereotypes, including having football players run through a tipi at home games.
Among the factors taken into consideration by the committee in its retirement recommendation were the word’s dictionary definition, the potential long-term financial impacts on the district and academic research on the harmful impact of Native-themed mascots on Indigenous students.
