By Megan Wehring
Students weren’t the only ones who spoke up about the Rebel mascot last week.
Hays CISD administration recommended last week that the Board of Trustees should retire the rebel mascot from Hays High School. The Board then voted unanimously to do so, lending itself to begin a new mascot selection process in the next few months.
“Our recommendation is based on the fact that people are arguing at all,” Tim Savoy, chief communication officer, said. “The mascot has to be something that’s a unifying symbol of a school. When you see the passions, the hurt and all of the divisiveness that comes with it, we believe that it has ceased to serve its purpose of what a mascot needs to be.”
Many members of the Hays community are outspoken about their experiences. Board secretary Vanessa Petrea said that all current and former students should feel proud of where they reside.
“We should be known for being a place that fosters a sense of community, family and belonging,” Petrea said. “But, how can we do that if we continue to support symbols that alienate 25% of our community and divide us?”
At the July 16 Board meeting, Hays High School senior Alena Hernandez spoke up about her experience organizing the student committee to change the mascot. She was stunned to receive negative backlash against her for her opinion. Hernandez informed the Board that some members of the community created fake accounts solely to message her hateful comments.
Board Vice President Will McManus said the unacceptable behavior toward Hernandez was uncalled for in any situation.
“It really honestly breaks my heart,” McManus said. “Adults that were a part of that really need to spend some time reflecting on what matters in their life. I’m just really upset about it. It should never happen.”
Trustee Meredith Keller suggests the Board should discuss institutional racism in the district.
“Institutional racism is 100% real,” Keller said. “We have the opportunity to actually do something about that. We do hold power there. This is an institution and we need to dig deep and make sure that we are not doing that.”
The Hays Rebel mascot spiked mass social media attention within the last few weeks. Board President Esperanza Orosco said the community should have difficult conversations while being respectful toward their peers.
“We really had to hear from our students,” Orosco said. “We really had to have those hard conversations. But we can have hard conversations without being hateful, without being rude, without saying the most profane things out there.”
Keller also encourages the students to stay positive as the district goes through the new mascot selection.
“This is a terrible time in our society and in our world right now,” Keller said. “I really hope that our students and our staff can be kind as we move through this process.”
