By Sharron Luttrell
As the committee tasked with choosing a new Nipmuc school mascot closes in on a decision, a petition is circulating to reopen the process to give people more time to provide input.
As of Friday evening, 189 people had signed the online petition, which Upton resident Molly Hanchett created amid concerns that some people were unaware a new mascot was being picked and didn’t have adequate time to weigh in.
“There wasn’t a lot of communication. I think that the process of how they went about it is a little bit broken, in my opinion,” she said.
The district began phasing out its Nipmuc warrior mascot in 2021, after the Nipmuc Nation Tribal Council in a 2016 letter, urged schools to stop using Native American mascots because it promotes racist stereotypes. In January, school Superintendent Maureen Cohen announced the goal to select a new mascot in time to incorporate the logo into the new athletic fields. Work is slated to begin late summer.
Nipmuc Regional High School Athletic Director Christopher Schmidt pulled together a committee of 12 parents, alumni, students, teachers and administrators in February. The group was trained to “evaluate mascots based on criteria such as uniqueness, local significance, alliteration, and how well a symbol reflects our district’s principles,” Cohen said in her April 1 newsletter. In March, the group solicited suggestions through an online form, which it made available through the high school, middle school, superintendent’s and athletic department’s newsletters. It also sent emails with the link to students and faculty. The form was available for “a week to 10 days,” Schmidt said.
Hanchett, the mother of two Memorial School students and a 2-year-old, saw the notice and forwarded it to friends. Later others told her the submission period was closed by the time they learned of it. She said the window to submit suggestions should have been longer and advertised more widely, such as through Mendon and Upton social media pages, on flyers and in local news outlets.
“They could have had a tiger team of parents posting and trying to make sure voices were heard because this is history, truly, this will be the history of Mendon and Upton in our future,” she said.
Schmidt said the selection committee received roughly 250 submissions, which it narrowed to eight semifinalists. The list was publicized this week via the same channels as for soliciting submissions. The deadline for voting for the top three is April 10.
As of Thursday, 621 people had weighed in, Schmidt said.
The timeline for the process has been tight because the mascot will be incorporated into the new athletic complex.
“In order for us to be able to move forward with the process, we need to get it out in that timeframe,” he said.
Once the mascot is chosen, designs need to be drawn up and finalized.
The issue of replacing Native American school mascots has stirred controversy across Massachusetts for years. All but 10 schools in the state have already retired their mascots in deference to the wishes of local Native Americans tribes. Schmidt said he understands and respects people’s devotion to the Warrior name, but it’s time to set it aside.
“People who are alumni of Nipmuc, there are certainly a portion of those people who feel very passionate about having been Warriors. My answer to that is, that’s who you are. If you went to Nipmuc that’s who you are. You’re a Warrior,” he said. “But like everything, in the future people will connect to whatever the new mascot is.”
Hanchett, who grew up in Hopkinton, said she would prefer the district keep the Warrior name, but her main concern is that the process be more transparent and more voices be considered in the decision.
“At the end of the day this isn’t about forcing a mascot decision,” she said. “Of course I feel strongly about keeping the Warriors, but that’s beside the point. I can get over that. But I think this is such an impactful and serious decision to be made … you’ve got to turn up the volume on your communication.”
