UNION LEADER EDITORIAL
Wednesday, January 10, 2007

City school symbols: Who will be offended next?

A single Central High School graduate said he was offended by two of Manchester's three high school sports symbols, and the school board asked for a review of the mascots to determine whether they should stay. Hold on a minute.

Ibrahim Elshamy, Central's 2005 class president, does not like Central's Indian and Memorial's Crusader. He told the school board that in the Crusades "a fanatical army swept across continents, brutally engaging in genocide against Jews, Muslims, Orthodox Christian, women and children."

Well, not really. But what's a little historical inaccuracy when people's feelings are hurt?

We see nothing wrong with either school's symbol. Nor do we think the symbols are sacred. If a majority of the student body, faculty, staff, and school board members felt repulsed by either name and demanded a change, then by all means the board should order a review.

But the standard for reviewing the symbols should be higher than the opinion of a single former student who takes offense based on a misunderstanding of history.

There is no such thing as a school symbol that will please every student and graduate. If the board's goal is to avoid offending even a single person, it has set an impossibly high standard.