Spaulding 'Red Raider' mascot under a cloud again
FOSTER'S DAILY DEMOCRAT (Dover, NH)
Monday, April 10, 2006
Amanda Dumond — Democrat Staff Writer
ROCHESTER — The debate over Spaulding High School's Red Raider mascot has reignited, with some alumni calling for the emblem to be changed out of respect for American Indians while other alumni are outraged saying the logo is causing no real harm.
Community members and local educators gathered for an open forum to discuss changing the logo six years ago but no action was taken. Now the School Board's Special Services Committee will meet Tuesday night to discuss the mascot issue.
The district is revisiting the matter after Peter Sanfaçon, Spaulding alumnus of Framingham, Mass., sent a letter to the superintendent's office in early March asking that the Red Raider emblem be changed because it was derogatory to American Indians.
Athletic Director David Colson said that while some people may find the mascot to be offensive, many alumni associate it with good memories from their high school days at Spaulding.
Sanfaçon said in his letter that the school district should strive to comply with the resolution passed in August 2002 by the New Hampshire Board of Education calling for local school districts to stop using American Indian sports mascots as well as a similar resolution adopted by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 2001.
"Several years have gone by since these resolutions were issued and Spaulding High School's 'Red Raider' is still here," he wrote. "School representatives claim that the name and logo are 'honoring' Native Americans. Do we honor Native Americans by calling them 'Red' and then using that color in our sports teams' uniforms? Do we honor Native Americans by referring to them as 'Raiders'? What honor is there in depicting an entire race of people as aggressive and violent? The name 'Red Raiders' honors no one."
School board member and Spaulding alumnus Frank Callaghan said the mascot was not intended to ridicule anyone.
"This is not harming anyone. This is just nitpicking," he said.
Callaghan's wife, Dot, who teaches at School Street School, has spent the last 16 summers on an Arizona American Indian reservation. She said the American Indians she worked with celebrated the recognition and were not offended by the use of the Red Raider representing Rochester schools. Both Frank and Dot said there are more important issues to worry about such as giving more American Indians an opportunity for decent living.
The Spaulding High School mascot discussion will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the middle school cafeteria.
For more information about the meeting, contact the superintendent's office at 332-3678.
