Should the student body of Hays High School decide it’s time to ditch its Rebel mascot, the pump is primed for the process to begin, Superintendent Dr. Eric Wright said.
Spurred by dialogue on social media, emails from students and a petition, Wright told the Hays Free Press that district officials are “thinking of what the potential steps might look like” on the way to finding a new mascot.
Whatever the process might look like, Wright was adamant it be student-led, as have similar changes in the not-too-distant past.
The district has been distancing itself from the concept of the Confederacy for two decades, first banning the Confederate flag being displayed by the school, expanding that to display by students and, just five years ago, dropping “Dixie” as the school’s fight song.
All those changes were implemented in the wake of student initiatives, Wright said.
In recent days, he said, “We’ve had some students come forward and say they are concerned. We need to hear from the rest of the student body and find out what their feelings are.”
That process will be through a survey the district said could go out as early as the week of June 29 to students who will be in grades 9-12 for the 2020-2021 school year. Students will be sent the survey on their gmail accounts.
Wright said faculty and staff, who have to “live with the campus mascot every day,” will also be surveyed. “Their voices must weight heavily in the discussion.”
The Hays CISD went through a similar process two years ago prior to the opening of Johnson High School. Students suggested mascots (that didn’t duplicate any of the district’s other mascots) and then the list was narrowed down and students were allowed to vote. In all likelihood, there would be two votes throughout the process.
Once a decision was made the school was able to order band and sports uniforms and banners and paint the Jaguar on gym floors and other areas of campus.
Choosing a new mascot for an existing school would be more complicated. For one thing, “booster clubs operate independently and they’ve probably already ordered supplies for this upcoming year,” said Tim Savoy, chief communications officer for the district.
“If there was a change, implementing it is probably not something we’d be able to do this fall.” Savoy also said it might not take a year, holding out the possibility of a Jan. 1, 2021 changeover.
Although Wright noted the cost would be “sizable,” it’s likely the district would cover it, Savoy said, as long as it’s what the student body wants.
Though Wright acknowledged “great strides” had been made in distancing the district from names and symbols associated with the Confederacy, “we also know the conversation continues regarding the Rebel mascot. We are listening.”
“In 2015, our hope was that by divorcing the hard symbols of the Confederacy such as Dixie and the flag, we might be able to rebrand what it means to be a Rebel – a 21st Century Rebel,” he continued. However, that may not be possible. If it is possible to re-imagine a Rebel with no association to the South, the Civil War or the Confederacy – we’ll do the work it will take. If a change is inevitable, we are committed to undertaking that work as well.”
The decision to approve a new mascot would be made by the district’s Board of Trustees. Wright and Savoy stressed that by the time it goes before them, a new mascot would already have been chosen.
