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California High School to Keep ‘Arab’ Mascot Name
A California school district will continue to be refer to itself as the “Arabs” but is open to making some changes amid cries its school mascot is racist.
Coachella Valley Unified Superintendent Darryl Adams said at a school board meeting Friday night the Coachella Valley High School will keep the “Arab” mascot name but is open to discussing changes with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, according to The Desert Sun.
The committee sent a letter to the district on Nov. 1 asking them to change the name and the accompanying caricature of an arab man, which the committee felt was a gross stereotype.
“ADC strongly believes that use of the word and such imagery perpetuates demeaning stereotypes of Arabs and Arab Americans,” wrote Abed Ayoub, legal and policy director for the committee. “The ‘Arab’ mascot image is a harmful form of ethnic stereotyping which should be eliminated. By allowing continued use of the term and imagery, you are commending and enforcing the negative stereotypes of an entire ethnic group, millions of whom are citizens of this nation.”
Ayoub, did not return an email seeking comment Saturday, but told the News earlier this month they would be open to working with the district on a change.
“We live in a new America now,” he said. “We’re more racially sensitive and diverse. The logic used to pick that name no longer applies now.”
The pictures painted at the school include a man with a large nose, heavy beard, and wearing a Kffiay, or traditional Arab head covering. During sporting events a student dresses as the mascot comes out to music, while a female dressed as a belly dancer entertains him, Ayoub said.
The school has had a version of the mascot since 1910 and the local community has a connection to the Middle East because a lot of crops from the region are grown there locally.
The design has had many changes over the years as shown by TV station WFMY 2.
Adams could not be reached for comment Saturday but in a letter to The Desert Sun the superintendent said the mascot was not intended to offend anyone.
“A mascot chosen to show reverence and honor for the customs of prideful Middle Eastern peoples throughout our region, now provokes negative feelings, and this must be addressed,” Adams wrote.
He added later “times change, people change, and, subsequently, even symbols and words embraced for decades may need to be considered for change as well.”
A press conference is planned for Tuesday to discuss the mascot’s future, the Times reported. A modified proposal could be submitted to the district’s board by the end of the year, the outlet reported.
Joel Landau
New York Daily News