A mother describes the sentence handed down to a man who worked at a Lemont high school, and took advantage of his position to sexually exploit female students, as a "slap on the wrist."
Column: Lemont school board members deserve thanks for decision to retire Indians nickname chicagotribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chicagotribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Lemont High School to discontinue use of controversial Indians mascot ABC7 Chicago Digital Team
An Illinois high school will soon be phasing out the controversial use of Indians in reference to the school.
Lemont High School District 210 Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution Monday night to discontinue the term associated with student activities and athletic teams. The south suburban school will also phase out the use of the LHS Indians logo.
The resolution will take effect at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, according to the district s president. The primary responsibility of the Board of Education is to ensure our students are provided with the best educational experience at Lemont High School. It is imperative for our students to learn to think critically in an environment where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, the district said in a statement.
One man at the largely-attended school board meeting suggested changing the mascot name to Flames, but the crowd appeared to push towards keeping the name as Indians.
Several Lemont High School parents spoke at the meeting, including Mike Wilson who feel the district should keep the name. I think we ve done nothing but celebrate Indians, Wilson said. There hasn t been sufficient debate about this.
Some parents said they aren t wondering why the school would vote to change the name, but were wondering why people were not informed of the meeting. I feel that they ve been trying to keep this from the community, said parent Mina Scumaci.
UpdatedMon, Jul 19, 2021 at 10:28 pm CT
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The LHS Indians logo will also be phased out for athletics and activities, Board President Kurt Korte said in a statement to Patch. (Andrea Earnest, Patch)
LEMONT, IL At Monday s board meeting, the Lemont High School board of education unanimously voted to discontinue the use of Indians in reference to athletics and activities, effective at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.
The LHS Indians logo will also be phased out for athletics and activities, Board President Kurt Korte said in a statement to Patch. The Board of Education is unanimous in its support of this resolution, he said.