And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: Robert Eurich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From the May 24 Dallas Morning News is this story about the 10 schools in Dallas that will have replaced their "Indian" sports team tokens by the beginning of the next school year. http://www.dallasnews.com:80/metro/0524met10mascots.htm <clipped excerpt> In the name of sensitivity Area schools dropping Indian mascots 05/24/99 By Jacquielynn Floyd / The Dallas Morning News The former Apaches of Birdie Alexander Elementary are Eagles now. William Anderson Elementary, once the home of the Braves, is now the home of the less euphonious but more distinctive Pegasuses. At L.O. Donald Elementary, where every kid is a Comet, the last remaining vestige of the school's old Indian mascot is a logo painted on the gym floor that will be stripped off by summer's end. With a noticeable lack of the shouting and legal wrangling that has plagued other school districts facing the same issue, 10 schools in the Dallas district have quietly dropped American Indian-themed mascots, most of them during the last year. Over the summer, district workers will paint over old signs, print new T-shirts and order new band uniforms. The district has budgeted $60,000 for the task. The last vestiges of the old mascots will be gone by the time classes start in the fall. The changes were requested in August 1997 by one parent and three school district employees who said the mascots made a caricature of American Indian culture and could offend American Indian students, who make up less than 1 percent of the district's student population. "It wasn't a capricious decision. We're just in an era of sensitivity and doing what's right," said Israel Garcia, principal at L.O. Donald. "It wasn't done just because people were angry." <end excerpt> -- American Indian Sports Team Mascots http://www.geocities.com/~earnestman/1indexpage.htm "Little drops of rain wear away the greatest of stones." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What do lizards and rock music have in common? http://www.onelist.com They both have communities at ONElist. Find yours today! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You are on the anti racism list to sub/unsub go to: http://www.onelist.com/isregistered.cgi?userinfo <<<<=-=-= =-=-=>>>> "We simply chose an Indian as the emblem. We could have just as easily chosen any uncivilized animal." Eighth Grade student writing about his school's mascot, 1997
