É«ÖÐÉ«

The É«ÖÐÉ« has taken the next step in the process to change its Warrior mascot by launching a Mascot Suggestion Survey.

Members of the É«ÖÐÉ« community (current students, staff and families, as well as alumnus, retirees and community members) can submit their suggestions to replace the Warrior nickname and state why they feel the suggested nickname best fits with the current logo. Once those are collected, a Mascot Committee will review submissions and narrow it down to a group of finalists to be presented to the community for an official vote.

 The survey closes on Friday, February 9.

In April 2023, the New York State Board of Regents voted unanimously to approve new rules banning the use of Native American culture in schools. This regulation requires school districts which currently use indigenous team names, logos, and mascots to eliminate the use of all indigenous names, logos, or mascots by the end of the 2024-2025 school year. While the district adopted a Roman Warrior logo 20 years ago, the NYS Education Department determined that the term Warrior is still connected to the Native American culture, and must be replaced.

At a community meeting in December, the district stated it would prefer to keep the current Roman Warrior logo and change the nickname. Keeping the current logo would cause less disruption in terms of branding work that has already taken place in the district. This includes signage and displays within district buildings, as well as placement on uniforms, equipment and apparel.