The school’s nearly 800 ninth through 12th graders will propose and pick a new moniker this month to end decades of conflicting opinion about the Civil War symbol.
Advocates are urging the Vermont Legislature to change a state law around school mascots, saying in a statement that the current legislation does not protect students and has “failed.” The statement, which was signed by 51 advocates, including 16.
“We do not believe the Thunderbird has any harmful imagery for any student at MVU, including our Abenaki population,” Chief Joanne Crawford, of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, and Brenda Gagne, president of the school district’s Indian Education Parent Advisory Committee, wrote in a joint statement.
Two Vermont nonprofit advocacy groups filed formal complaints seeking to remove school mascots at eight schools across the state, arguing that they are offensive and harmful to students.In a letter last week, the Rutland Area NAACP and Gedakina, a.