Morris High School board discusses plan for possible mascot change

MORRIS — The Morris Community High School District 101 Board met Wednesday night in a special session to discuss issues that have arisen in the talk about changing the school’s mascot.

The meeting lasted approximately an hour, and many points were brought up and discussed.

Prior to the board beginning its discussion, it heard from a few members of the public. Ted Trujillo, who has been at the forefront of asking for a change of the mascot for a number of years, thanked the board for holding the meeting and for considering changing the mascot.

“You have all the information to make a decision,” he said. “We are talking about a race of people. The mascot name is a slur, and it causes harm to our Native youth and instills prejudice. I would like to thank you for this meeting.”

Trujillo was followed by local attorney Randolph Gordon, who is a lifelong resident of Morris and whose father was a member of the District 101 board.

“First of all, I would like to thank the members of the board for doing a thankless job,” he said. “Part of the perception with this racial slur is that there are two Indian tribes on reservations out west that still use [current mascot] as their mascot or team name. Surely, if they use it, they certainly don’t consider it a slur. There have been all kinds of studies, including one done by the Washington Post, a poll of Native American Indians, where most of the were in favor. The logo which we use all around the school, was designed by an Indian chief, and he used another Indian chief as the model.

“You only have a finite number of hours in which you can do things. There’s a lot better, I would think, ways to allocate money and time than to change a mascot name.”

Next was Barb Rath, who graduated from MCHS in 1970 and has taught at the school since 1978. During her time at the school, her children went to MCHS, and she has been involved in many activities such as student council.

“I have played the teacher role, the parent role, advisor to Student Council for many years and was in charge of the Chief,” she said. “What I would like you to know is that, over a period of time, especially with the Chief, we have been seeing it used less and less. The reason was because we didn’t want anyone to feel badly about it. Now, it is kind of in name, so to speak. Over the course of time, administrators didn’t want to offend anyone, so the role of the Chief became less.

“I thought, what are we trying to teach our student body? My heart is in Morris High School. It has been for years and years. But it’s not because of the mascot name. It’s because of the times that you make, the clubs you join, the memories you make, the friends you have, the sports teams you are on. Our student body, if they were called, say the Mangoes or something, they would get behind that and would buy Mango T-shirts and that type of thing. I understand there has to be a phasing out of this because you just can’t be offensive. That’s the bottom line. We try to teach the kids in class every day to play nice, don’t be a bully, don’t be mean to anybody, don’t say something bad to somebody. If there is a people that perceive the name as something derogatory, then we need to make that change, I believe.

“When one of our students didn’t have the opportunity to go to a Bears game because of this, we are taking away an opportunity for a student that could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. I think we have to step back and say we don’t have to answer to the people downtown. We have to answer to the student body, and if there are going to be students that miss out on things because of our mascot name, that’s not what we are here for. We are here for them.”

The board then began its discussion on a plan if they do indeed vote to change the mascot. Some of the key items were cost considerations, uniforms, a planned end date and procedures to phase out the old mascot.

The floor in the main gymnasium, which currently displays the mascot logo and name, is scheduled to be replaced in 2024, but the date can be moved if needed. Team uniforms cannot be all replaced at once, but can begin to be ordered without the [current mascot] logo or word on them immediately. It was noted that many sports teams have already done this.

As to the planned end date to retire the current mascot, the board came up with the idea that the current freshman class would be the last one to finish as [current mascot]. However, this date could need adjusting due to legislation, students’ ability to compete in activities, etc.

It was noted that the previous administration began this process, as there have been several years of using the generic “M” logo and “Morris” on uniforms, and that change is already happening with how the MCHS teams are introduced at conference competitions and in merchandise. The board felt that an end date of 2025 would allow time to address all concerns with planning, phasing out, honoring tradition and moving forward.

The board said that in retiring the current mascot and selecting a new one, they need to preserve pride, tradition and a sense of community, and that the longer the divide between changing and not changing goes on, the more the school stands to lose.

The board felt the need to take the time to make a change in the right way, and that they should move forward with more people on board with the change. A phase-out process can do that rather than rushing things. It was noted that by taking time to do things the right way, the school can avoid having to make multiple mascot changes, as has happened in Lemont.

By setting an end date for the current mascot, the board felt that time allows a chance to come up with something new and gather input from the students and community on a new mascot. Also, a relaunch/branding would create a sense of unity among students and bring all activities together.

Superintendent Dr. Craig Ortiz said he would share a cleaned-up summary in at December’s board meeting, but there would not be an actionable item on the agenda for a vote, as not every board member will be in attendance. This would allow time to think about all steps, and the board should be prepared to vote in January. Before the December meeting, Dr. Ortiz said he would have the school’s attorney review the tentative plan before the December meeting.