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Comments During the School Committee Meeting on October 21, 2021
By Christine Marlow
I ask for a delay of the Creation of the Mascot Screening Committee until 1st We can confirm that this was a LEGAL process and 2nd That the committee represents this community and not by a small, biased group of people.
1) Many students reported that they were excluded from the mascot discussion. Including students who were told by staff that they could NOT participate in the mascot discussion because of their race or gender status. How can this committee ensure that all voices are heard in this proposed process, when this discussion promoted hatred and bullying from the start?
2) Many in the greater community felt they were NOT included in the mascot retirement discussion. Why does this Mascot Screening Committee only have one member from the greater community? The same community that pays the taxes for this school & the administration’s salary.
Shrewsbury included 32 participants from the public in their committee.
3) Some of the school administration have permitted bullying and shaming of pro-Colonial students as a means to silence their voices. Many students have used accusations of racism via social media to intimidate pro-colonial supporters. Since their superintendent and many in the administration back them, they feel empowered to behave in this way. Superintend Light you should NEVER have voiced your opinion or chosen sides on this issue. This was a missed opportunity to demonstrate to our students what leadership, conflict resolution, and respect for differences of opinion look like. Instead, what has been demonstrated is that intolerance and bully tactics are acceptable behaviors. This is shameful!
The mishandling of this issue has resulted in division and contention with our student body and community, and it needs to stop!
4) My family respects the Colonials who fought for freedom and against oppression. We are grateful that they made it possible for legal immigrants, like my great grandparents, to come here for a better life. Unfortunately, this is no longer being taught in this schools. It is disgusting that our students believe that the Colonials were oppressors when in fact they fought for freedom for all people.
For these reasons I ask for a delay in the formation of this Committee.
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I am not sure where this notion comes from that the uniforms are required to have a nickname. It isn’t in the MIAA handbook and many schools like Lincoln-Sudbury only list the school name (or in Lincoln-Sudbury’s case simply “LS”) on their uniforms.
http://www.miaa.net/gen/miaa_generated_bin/documents/basic_module/MIAA_Handbook21_23.pdf
Thank you Christine for your strong and insightful statement, and Lucy for your solid follow-up. You’ve both made excellent points and I applaud you for presenting them publicly.
As for the Jeremy’s claim that the mascot was “rejected by large percentage of the school community” — please cite the mechanism used to determine the “large percentage” and provide numbers to back it up.
Did we miss a referendum, ballot question, or a poll somewhere?
Corinne, that’s good to know, thank you. I thought it was unusual since the Student Handbook even stated that students were protected by the 14 Amendment, and the school could not interfere with that right unless your appearance poses a genuine threat to your health or safety, or is disruptive clothing displaying obscenities, or has symbols or words that incite others.
You know, that big bad Colonial t-shirt!! ; )
Corinne,
Thanks for your support. I stumbled across this forum for the first time a few days ago and was happy to have a place to share my experiences of what this process has been like for my family over the last year.
When my daughter was bullied on social media last year after posting the “Save the Colonial” petition, I did include this in my email comments to the school committee when they were asking for public feedback on the Colonial Mascot. I also CC’d Peter Light so they have this on the record. I did not include the “bullies” names, but kids must remember, their comments on social media do not go away. In the end, we decided that sometimes telling on a bully, can worsen a situation, sadly, so let it go. With that said, if I have reason to believe that this behavior continues, I can have my daughter pull these comments at any time, which even Included someone telling her that she needed to take the save the colonials petition off her instagram. She did stand her ground, and kept it up. She lost 2 friends as a result, (the rest were strangers that just felt the need to call her names such as racist and white privilege), so yes there has been division in our school community over this.. Fortunately, she has found comfort in the cheerleaders and new friends who also faced similar backlash over the last year for their desire to save the mascot.
In terms of the Colonial t-shirts that were made for the cheerleaders by the boosters. They were also made for the football players who got theirs first. When the athletic director saw these, he tried to keep them from the girls. The boosters persisted that the girls should have them as well. He decided that he would only allow them to have them if they agreed not to wear them to school. When I addressed this matter to Peter Light in an email, he said that it seemed appropriate because this is not a mascot for our school anymore. He had an issue with the booster’s judgment to buy them colonial gear. My thought is that the kids uniforms all still say Colonial on them so they are technically still “The Colonials” so don’t understand what the issue is. Feels more like a power trip for them. He also said that when students are a part of an organized activity, they would not have the same right to wear colonials gear as they would in the community. I did mention their first amendment rights, and he said “there is no 1st amendment right to this”. I also said that the kids were hoping to put colonial back on the ballot when voting happened, but with this renaming committee consisting of himself, the school committee, and the athletic director, there would be no chance. He said that he has no plans to revisit this matter and is moving forward, basically. I went to our superintendent for support and guidance, but got nothing in return. I felt very unsupported as a parent.
So Jeremy might think of me as a helicopter parent, but really just doing my job, which is to protect my kids. I am trying to stand up for their rights. This is not about the “parents past their prime” deciding this matter, as Jeremy stated. It is really about the students who want to keep the colonial but have no voice. Trust me, I work with the public in town and have a kid in the school and I’m also at sporting events. I am in touch with the current students. It’s about the kids and supporting all of them, not just some of them. Jeremy, I’m not sure how in touch you are with the current students because you seem so unaware of the current feeling in the school. But yes, I agree with you on one matter, that the kids should decide, but they need a fair system that allows them to vote for their choice. If Colonial is not allowed on the ballot, what will those kids that still want Colonial select??
This makes my blood boil, Lucy.
Peter Light is making this up as he goes along; he could not be more wrong. The issue of students’ rights to freedom of expression was settled by the US Supreme Court in 1969. A snippet from the majority opinion:
“They may not be confined to the expression of those sentiments that are officially approved. ”
https://www.aclu.org/other/tinker-v-des-moines-landmark-supreme-court-ruling-behalf-student-expression
The boosters are privately run organizations funded by the families of athletes. There’s nothing to stop them from buying Colonial gear forever. If Peter Light or the ECARES nutjobs don’t like it, too bad.
Also, Lucy — I’ve heard that there is some sort of MIAA rule that requires schools have a nickname. As the School Committee sough only to tear down and not to build up, they did not come up with an alternative to the Colonial when they discarded it last year.
Which means — AB are still Colonials.
I suspect this is why the process is timed as it is, so that there might be a replacement in time for the spring sports season.
Well said, Christine!! I have a current student at AB, and 2 former Alums, and our whole family is in support of retaining the Colonial Mascot. The voices of the supporters have been silenced, by Mr. Light, the athletic director, the school committee, and members of ABSEJ.
A year ago, we got the devastating news that ABSEJ was trying to get rid of our Colonial Mascot. My kids all quickly posted the Save the Colonial petition to their social media and my current student was bullied by ABSEJ members as a result. Somehow they decided to link the mascot to racism, which does not represent my kids at all. This was devastating to my kid, who has always treated everyone with kindness.
Remember Jeremy, this decision to remove the mascot was not decided by the town, but by a small committee, that did not represent the greater community. If it had been decided by town vote, we would have accepted it’s fate.
Have you ever been to an AB Football game? I’ve been to most this year. You can still feel the Colonial spirit. At senior night last week, the proud parents of the seniors wore their kids Colonial Varsity jackets. The fans, “The Colonial Crazies” cheered for the Colonials as they always do. Everyone who could find any colonial apparel put it on. The cheerleaders, who support the colonial mascot, continued to try to use the word Colonials in their cheers as it all rhymed, but have been told that they could not compete in their cheer competition if they cheered Colonial ever again. The boosters recently bought them AB Colonial t-shirts which they were so excited about, but then were told they could not wear them to school. It is so sad. They have no voice in this matter.
So Jeremy, can you really say that the majority of the town wants a new mascot? I’m willing to bet that it’s just a handful. The petition to save the mascot got more signatures then the one to get rid of it. And that one came out after theirs. So what’s better, a coyote, a tiger, a bear? What represents the current students better today? Another animal, or a freedom fighter? My kids all were taught the importance of Acton’s history and are going with the freedom fighter! Reeducation sounds like a great idea though!
We support all peoples opinions! Your comments about banning protestors, and beating people are ridiculous. We are just trying to raise everyones voices. You are using the same tactics as the the committee and unlike some of these poor kids that can’t speak, I’m not afraid to speak for them!
We will stand strong with Christine! And peacefully.
To be completely honest, I think the majority of the town doesn’t care what the High School team has as a mascot. If it did the town would be full of signs saying keep the mascot, not the odd one here or there. If it was a big issue to the majority, it would have been an issue in the school committee elections or the town elections. It wasn’t. If anything the new members are more in favor of a change than the old ones. If it was a big issue for the majority of the town, it would have been brought up at the town meeting. It wasn’t.
Let’s be honest , this is an argument between two small loud groups. Most people are indifferent. Just compare it with the debate over pot shops and you’ll see what I mean. That generated far more interest.
I trust the High Schoolers to make their own decision. I know that’s an outrageous position in these days of helicopter/lawn mower parenting but there you go. They have to wear the uniform, they should be able to say what’s on it not a group of folks who are past their prime.
As for history, the grievances in the Declaration of Independence and subsequent actions of the founders show what ‘Freedom’ meant to them. It certainly wasn’t freedom for all or an end to oppression. If you were a slave, Native American or even a Catholic you were certainly not equal. Something to think about rather than the Walt Disney version of history some like to believe. It took a Civil war to finally free the slaves.
Lucy, I’ve heard stories of bullying in the schools. I’ve even heard of students being bullied by teachers and other staff. It would be helpful if some of those kids would go on the record or speak before the school committee. I know that’s a big ask for a teenager. It’s also why bullying is so effective.
As for the cheerleaders being told they are not allowed to wear Colonials t-shirts to school? That is a clear 1st amendment violation, possibly 14th as well (equal protection). It is a restriction applied only to them, not to the student body in general. I had a cheerleader and a football player come to my house selling gold cards, both wearing their Colonial t-shirts, which I told them I loved to see!
Thanks to you and your kids for standing up for the Colonial mascot, a symbol of pride in our local history and gratitude to those who fought for our freedom from tyranny.
Peter Light was absolutely right. He understood the purpose of the mascot, a rallying point for the school community. He also understood that you can’t continue with a mascot that a large percentage of the school community have rejected. It just doesn’t work.
What is your solution? Impose a mascot on the High School? What will you do about the inevitable protests that will follow? Ban protestors from games? Beat them? Set up reeducation camps? For what? So you can impose your will?
It’s time to move on. Let’s come together as a community and support the students by allowing them to pick a mascot they can all rally behind.
Thank you Christine. Nice work.
We need concerned parents in Acton and Boxborough to consider running for School Committee during the upcoming elections in late March.
Hint ! Hint !
Thank you for writing this. Please let us know how we can support this cause and get involved
Thank you! Nice job and initiative.
RE: For these reasons I ask for a delay in the formation of this Committee.
So what is the current status of your request?
At a high-level what is the process and estimated timeline to determine legality of the process?
It would be good to have insight into such and next steps…