Opposing Twin Lakes petitions surface: One to remove the 'Indians' mascot, another asks to keep it the same

[Muda69]

https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2020/07/23/opposing-petitions-emerge-twin-lakes-indians-mascot/5485460002/

Quote

Petitions continue to circle around Greater Lafayette and the surrounding school corporations, with the most recent focused on Twin Lakes in Monticello.

One petition has been created by two Twin Lakes alumni to the school board and administration of Twin Lakes School Corp., calling for the school to stop using its mascot, the Indians.

The writers behind the petition to change the mascot are Kaitlin Willbanks and Tommy Thompson, who both graduated from Twin Lakes High School in 2013. In a letter dated July 20, the pair asked the school board and administration to reconsider the mascot.

As of Wednesday, the petition has gathered just over 500 signatures.

“We know Twin Lakes is filled with people of good intent — the staff, the faculty, the administration, the school board, the students, and the broader community,” the letter reads. “But we are writing you today because good intentions are not always good enough. It is long past time for us as a community to take a critical look at the ‘Indians’ mascot and make the choice to stop using indigenous peoples as a symbol.” 

Willbanks, a current law student at Maurer School of Law at Indiana University Bloomington, said she had been uncomfortable with the mascot and thinking about how to enact change long before she and Thompson wrote the letter.

“Traditions and school spirit are very important, and we genuinely don’t believe that anyone at Twin Lakes thinks they’re being offensive or doing anything problematic,” Willbanks said. “It’s sad for us to have people think that we’re attacking, because that’s not our goal. We’re coming at this from a place of love, but this is something that has bothered us, and we would like to see changed.” 

Thompson, a current officer and military analyst in the U.S. Air Force, said he feels that as a younger high school student, he would not have supported the petition, and it took his experience working as a camp counselor and experiencing diversity in the Air Force to change his opinion.

“Five years ago, I may not have been comfortable signing on to something like this, but now I think it’s extremely important that we do,” Thompson said. “Now is better than never.”

In opposition to Willbanks and Thompson’s petition, another, “Save the Twin Lakes INDIANS” has been created and currently is surpassing the former in signatures, with more than 1,900 as of Wednesday afternoon.

It was created by Nikki Diggs and Josh Diggs, a 1993 Twin Lakes graduate.

Nikki Diggs was not immediately available for comment as one of the authors of the petition. 

....  

Twin Lakes Assistant Superintendent Debbie Metzger said in an email that she is aware of the petition and it has the attention of the school board, which plans to discuss the matter at the upcoming executive session.

“I understand there are strong feelings on both sides of the proposal,” Metzger said. “However, at this time our primary focus is to ensure a safe re-entry for our students and staff.”

Expect a lot more of these petitions put forward by "uncomfortable"  snowflakes.

 

[oldunclemark]

The suggestion is that simply the use of 'people' as a mascot is inherently demeaning. .....That's wrong on the face of it.

If Twin Lakes, as the anti-Indian letter authors agree, had good intent, then good was intended and no insult should be manufactured. Nothing needs to be changed.

 

Indy Northwest is the 'Space Pioneers'(but was space travel really worth it?)   Lafayette Catholic is the Knights  (were they good or bad?)  Mishawaka is the Cavemen (werent we all Cavemen at one time?) Eastern is the Musketeers (but who did they shoot?)

..and dont even start with New Palestine.

 

I think the 'mascot mafia' is a product of idle minds. 

Edited July 26, 2020 by oldunclemark
spelling

[Guest]

4 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

The suggestion is that simply the use of 'people' as a mascot is inherently demeaning. .....That's wrong on the face of it.

If Twin Lakes, as the anti-Indian letter authors agree, had good intent, then good was intended and no insult should be manufactured. Nothing needs to be changed.

 

Indy Northwest is the 'Space Pioneers'(but was space travel really worth it?)   Lafayette Catholic is the Knights  (were they good or bad?)  Mishawaka is the Cavemen (werent we all Cavemen at one time?) Eastern is the Musketeers (but who did they shoot?)

..and dont even start with New Palestine.

 

I think the 'mascot mafia' is a product of idle minds. 

Love it Mark. 
Thank you for all you do.