BRATTLEBORO — Hoping to cease an ongoing civil war over its longtime nickname, Brattleboro Union High School will replace its nearly 75-year-old “Colonel” moniker with a new “Bear” mascot.
The school’s Windham Southeast district governing board voted unanimously Tuesday night to accept the results of a student vote calling for the change.
“Bears are fiercely protective animals who have been known to walk upon our very campus, have powerful instincts, high intelligence, highly developed communication skills, are well known for their self-confidence, and therefore symbolize worthy characteristics for a mascot,” junior Eva Gould told the board.
Brattleboro Union High adopted “Colonels” as its team nickname in 1950 to honor Union soldiers who mustered at the town’s old Civil War campgrounds on the school’s campus. But the symbol had morphed into a “Pride of the South” plantation owner mascot by the 1970s, leading some fans to wave Confederate flags at games and, in 1998, burn an effigy of a Black doll at a homecoming bonfire.
School leaders retired the mascot in 2004 but retained the “Colonel” moniker, only to see the issue resurface with the state government’s recent law requiring “nondiscriminatory school branding” that avoids stereotyping race, religion, nationality or sexual identity or referencing those “associated with the repression of others.”
The board voted last month to let the school’s nearly 800 ninth- through 12th-graders propose new nicknames — “non-gendered and should be able to be depicted physically and artistically,” the rules required — and pick a winner through a vote.
Administrators received 136 suggestions, but many were duplicates, names already taken by nearby schools, calls for the “Colonel,” or pesky proposals such as the “Bedbugs.” A committee then winnowed down the rest to three finalists: “Bears” then bested “Badgers” and “Bobcats.”
Dan Hermansson, a 2006 graduate, asked the board to listen to the 2,000 people who signed a “Save the Name Colonels” petition that argued the moniker no longer was connected to the Confederacy.
“The name ‘Colonels’ pays homage to those who have been a part of this school and community,” Hermansson said.
But a counter “Change the Racist Colonel” petition has attracted a similar number of signatures, with many alumni noting that 15% of Brattleboro’s nearly 800 current ninth- through 12th-graders identify as something other than “white,” according to school statistics.
“I know this is very difficult for a lot of people,” said Jody Normandeau, a 1959 graduate, “but I am glad that this is coming about for a change, now that I have been educated.”
Administrators hope to unveil a new “Bear” logo before the start of the fall semester.
“It’s important to remember that we’re not removing the Colonels from history,” interim Principal Cassie Damkoehler said. “It’s just about moving forward in a positive way.”
