Calaveras High in California chooses no mascot at all after mandate to drop Redskins name

By Mitch Stephens May 25, 2016, 12:00am

After being forced to change its Redskins mascot, Calaveras chooses to be known only by its school name.

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It's a touchy subject, one with many thoughts and opinions. So Calaveras (San Andreas, Calif.) has decided to go a completely different direction.

The school, forced to nix the school mascot of Redskins it has had since the 1940s, announced it will have no mascot at all rather than change to Redhawks, Skulls, Reds or anything else.

It will simply be known as Calaveras High School.



According to this story in the Calaveras Enterprise, the school logo will continue to show an American Indian in headdress and be featured on the school stationery. However, the word Redskins will be removed.

"We are Calaveras High School and we are proud, dignified and strong," Principal Mike Merrill told the newspaper.

The school put a new mascot to a vote with one of the options being no mascot. According to Merrill, no mascot was the resounding winner.

Of the 63 high schools that claim the nickname Redskins, four will need to change by Jan. 1, 2017. California has banned schools from using the name as a mascot, deemed as "disparaging of Native Americans" by the U.S. Patent Office.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law in the fall that will go into effect the first day of 2017, after the state Assembly overwhelmingly approved the California Racial Mascots Act in May. The three other California schools currently with Redskins as their mascot are Chowchilla, Gustine and Tulare Union (Tulare).

What do you think Calaveras should have done? Vote below