Penn Hills School District residents sound off on potential mascot change

The Penn Hills School Board listened to residents, students, alumni and staff April 13 regarding the possibility of changing the name of their mascot from the Indians.

No vote was taken, and the school directors did not speak or answer questions. Instead, the board listened, took notes and made audio and video recordings of the meeting.

“This should not be up to the board,” said school board president Erin Vecchio. “It should be up to the Penn Hills residents — the taxpayers — because they are the ones who are going to have to foot the bill. So put on a referendum, and let them vote.”

The financial cost of a rebrand was a common argument made against changing the name. Penn Hills School District is still dealing with the financial problems that were outlined in a 2019 audit that placed the district in financial recovery status.

In 2015, a school district in Banks, Ore., was projected to spend upwards of $70,000 to change its mascot. The size of that school district is significantly smaller than Penn Hills with only 1,147 total students enrolled, while Penn Hills has 3,296 enrolled.

Any change of the mascot would require a complete rebranding across the three large schools that house the students.

One resident listed the statistics of the graduating numbers in Penn Hills and said that the money, time and resources needed to focus on changing the brand would be better spent on improving the graduation numbers of the district.

While the financial side was one argument brought up to keep the name, a sense of pride in Penn Hills was the other.

However, for one resident who has lived in the district for 32 years, the cost shouldn’t matter.

Native American ‘extremely offended’

“Do I look like a mascot? Does my family look like a mascot? I’m not wearing a costume. My regalia is not a costume. (The mascot is) extremely offensive,” said Amanda Royal, who is of Native American heritage from the Cherokee, Lumbee and Blackfoot tribes.

She questioned whether finances should matter in a decision like this. She broke down in tears at the podium as she argued that the imagery associated with the Indian mascot is offensive to her and her ancestors.

Royal is a former high school cheerleader. She said she has felt uncomfortable with the cheers that the squad performs. She said she has lived in Penn Hills for her whole life and her family has been in the district for 60 years.

“If this doesn’t change,” Royal said, “it’s going to show what kind of community I’ve been living in — a racist one.”

Others disagree

But not all who attended the town hall meeting thought the name was offensive.

Frank Dole, who wasn’t allowed to address the board because he’s not a resident of Penn Hills, told the Tribune-Review after the meeting that he is married to a woman of Native American heritage from the Wakaman Siouan Tribe of North Carolina.

Dole said his wife and her tribesman actually prefer to be called American Indians. He said that while he understood some people of Native American descent are offended by the use of the imagery, he felt generalizing the entire population as being offended is false.

“(My wife) basically feels that it’s trying to erase Indian culture,” Dole said. “Make them invisible, more invisible than they already are. And I spoke to her nieces who live on an Indian reservation in North Dakota, and they feel the same way.

“So it depends who you’re talking to, whether it’s offensive. Some Native Americans might want to be called Native Americans, some might want to be called Indigenous, others American Indian,” he continued. “The people in my wife’s family that I have spoken to prefer to be called American Indian.”

Students favor name change

Despite there being enough chairs for more than 100 people, only 15 spoke at the meeting and only a few more than that attended.

Among the 15 were four students, including current Penn Hills football defensive captain Khalil Barley-Morrow, who said he was in favor of changing the name.

“I was hearing a lot of history and statistics about this and my question is, how is this relevant?” said Barley-Morrow. “Switching mascots doesn’t erase history, but it moves forward.”

Others, including Penn Hills social studies teacher Marlon Heyward, suggested new names. Heyward declined to take a stance on whether he supported a name change, but offered the name Red Tails as an alternative should the community vote to change it.

Red Tails was a nickname given to the Tuskegee Airmen from WWII, the first-ever all-Black fighter pilot squadron. Heyward, who is Black and the son of a former Air Force member, said it would be a nice way for the community to honor veterans.

Student council president Molly McQuire suggested the names Red Hawks, Pride and Lions. The Penn Hills student government had three members attend the meeting, all voicing support for changing the name.

It is worth noting that despite the name changes that have gone on at the major level, organizations have opted to keep their current colors.

Organizations like baseball’s Cleveland Guardians and football’s Washington Commanders, who changed their names from the Indians and Redskins, respectively, have kept their colors.

Team names like the Red Hawks and Red Tails would not only allow Penn Hills to keep their current colors of red and gold, but also allow them to incorporate the colors into the name.

Those who spoke of a potential name change suggested these possibilities to attempt to lower the cost of a full rebrand.

The school board is discussing the public’s comments before determining the next step. No decision has been made on whether the board will even vote to decide if the Indians mascot should be retired.