Students vote to keep Juanita "Rebels" mascot

KIRKLAND, Wash. — Students at Juanita High School have voted to keep their "Rebels" school mascot,

Over 10 percent of Juanita students started a petition earlier in the Spring to change the mascot and presented it to the Lake Washington School Board.

Students voted during their homeroom period on June 7, and absent students voted Monday.

In order for the mascot to change, 685 students needed to vote in favor. A Lake Washington School District officials said, "The final tally shoed just 347 students voting to change the mascot, while 680 students voted to keep the rebels mascot."

In the statement in support of changing the mascot students wrote,

"Many have argued that our Rebel is separate from the Confederate Rebel, and while the Confederacy was not in mind when adopting our mascot in 1971, this doesn't mean that the name doesn't raise eyebrows when taken out of context."

The statement went on to say: "This is a moment when we need to take a step back and look at the situation from the perspective of those around us, especially people of color. Considering the shameful history of slavery and racism that comes along with the Confederacy and what it continues to symbolize even today, it's time that we stop celebrating it and recognize that even if that's not what the
Rebel mascot represents to us, rebel is synonymous with racism to the rest of the country."

Click here to read the full statement.

Students who wanted the mascot to remain also submitted a statement,

"The term Rebel is a reference to the Revolutionary War and symbolized rebelling from educational norms with ideas such as the open concept. The term "rebel" is not inherently belligerent. A handful of students painting a confederate symbol of the stars and bars on themselves and yelling racial slurs at a football game is undeniably offensive. However, the misguided actions of a few, historically, do not define the entirety of a word, symbol, or our mascot. "

Click here to read the full statement.

According to information provided by the Lake Washington School District, at a football game in 1986 students held a Confederate flag in the student section.  In 1990, the  yearbook cover displayed the stars and bars associated with the Confederacy and had to be changed.

Nationwide several other schools have eliminated the Rebel mascot.

Principal Kelly Clapp shared the outcome of the vote with students this afternoon stating, “We will remain the Rebels. As we move forward next year, we will continue to work on what it really means to be a Rebel and be a part of the Rebel Family.”

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