CCS Students Favor “Tigers”
By Ashleigh Morris
CAMBRIDGE - CAMBRIDGE - Roughly 75 students and residents attended a meeting at Cambridge Central School last Thursday night to propose ideas for the new mascot. Cambridge, like all New York schools with Native American themed mascots, must select a new mascot by the end of this school year.
Board President Shay Price said the Board acknowledged it was out of options to keep the “Indians” moniker and logo and had originally intended to put out a community survey before ultimately deciding an in person forum would better suit the situation.
National Honor Society President Kateri Murphy outlined the process that students followed in selecting a choice for the new mascot.
Students were first asked what characteristics the mascot should represent, with the most popular answers being strength, power and pride. 46% of students though the mascot could be tied to local history while 37% said it should be tied to local history.
Students were then asked for their mascot suggestions, with Tigers, Eagles, Wildcats and Monarchs all making a dent in the polls.
Murphy said the student leaders were surprised by the Board’s decision to seek community input as they had expected the decision to be “student centered” as the board had previously committed to doing.
She said the leaders quickly held assemblies for students in grades 4-12 to prepare them for the opportunity to speak at the meeting.
Senior class President Deacon Schneider said a high school survey of potential names garnered 144 responses. “Tigers” was the heavy favorite of the students polled garnering 52.6% of the vote. “Eagles” received 10%, “Wolves” 9% and “Owls” 6%. Students who chose “Tigers” did so because it fits in nicely with the district’s school colors, as well as it’s existing ties to youth football and a belief that Tigers are representative of strength and courage.
Murphy told the Board her personal choice was “Eagles”, which she said was strong, prideful and relevent and a symbol not only of local history but of the country. She suggested the Eagle’s ties to the Revolution and Battle of Bennington and mentioned their importance to Native culture, where she says eagle feathers are gifted as an act of healing.
Thirteen students ranging from 8 to 18 spoke on the topic with six choosing Tigers and three liking “Eagles”, other suggestions were “Cougars”, “Mountain Lions”, and “Bartholomew”, a Super Worm.
Resident Scott Pearson suggested “Mighty Oaks” or “Oaken Horde”, a nod to the giant oak tree in the school’s field. Major Greg Woodcock suggested a Phoenix, while Kathleen Ward asked board member Dillon Honyoust to present a feather logo she had drawn by a local artist for her former restaurant.
Duane Honyoust, whose father fought to maintain the Indian mascot in 2001 when it was first challenged, presented “Valley Wolves” with a logo featuring wolf heads representing the four directions, north, south, east and west - with Cambridge in the middle. He spoke of Wolves being one of only four animals which educate their young and suggested the Wolf is appropriate as it represents a guide, for people to life their life as their creator intended.