A subcommittee of the Board of Education is scheduled to talk Tuesday night about the name of its athletic teams — the Red Raiders.
UPDATE: The school board chairman gave the Valley Indy the lowdown Tuesday afternoon. Click here to read it.
Just what will be discussed about the Red Raiders wasn’t clear Monday night.
Several Board of Education members said they weren’t sure about the issue, which is listed on the agenda of the committee on policy, planning and community relations.
Schools Superintendent Stephen Tracy said he believed the name discussion was added to the agenda at the request of School Board Chairmen Kenneth Marcucio.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him about it,” Tracy said Monday evening.
A message seeking comment was left with Marcucio Monday night.
The Red Raiders are named after Native Americans.
Native American groups, including the National Congress of American Indians, are offended by the use of Native American images as mascots.
Foe example, the word “Redskins,” the groups have argued, is a racist term.
In November 2009, a group of native Americans lost a lawsuit that would have forced the Washington Redskins to change its name, the Christian Science Monitor reported. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
The NCAA, meanwhile, doesn’t allow colleges or universities using Native American nickname, mascots or imagery to host NCAA championships.
The agenda item for the Derby subcommittee reads: “Discussion of mascot name for the Derby Public Schools; Currently known as the ‘Red Raiders’.”
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Derby High School Library Media Center.
