The controversy surrounding Lancaster's former mascot is not going away anytime soon. The Lancaster School Board swore in two new members Monday night who supported the old Redskins name. The meeting was filled with bickering between those who were in favor of retiring the name and others attempting to restore the previous mascot. WBFO's Jay Moran spoke with one of the new members of the Lancaster School Board, Brenda Christopher, about the controversy.
Lancaster School Board members voted earlier this year to retire the Redskins mascot following a push by the local Native American community, which argued the term is offensive. Supporters of the nickname contend it's part of a longstanding school tradition and claim the school board moved too quickly to retire the mascot.
"We're looking to reach out to the community. What is it that you want? This should have been done from the beginning. What is it that you want?" said Christopher.
"We want some kind of community vote. It won't go to community vote. It's not something you can vote on from what I'm understanding, but an exit poll can be done. It was done in 2005. Overwhelmingly, people wanted to keep our logo. We would like to see some kind of exit poll. We would like this community to have some kind of say," she added.
Christopher says the Lancaster community should have had a say from the beginning. She adds she would support whatever decision was reached by community members.
When the mascot was retired, students voted in the new mascot "Legends" in a competition that included more than 100 possible new names.
