as a person who works inside of the highschool and middle school i can say that the feather change is detremental in the long run. Remeber its the athletes and students mascot. The murmer around campus from what i can pick up is that there will be pushback from the student body. There is already a petition going around to reverse it and kids have been talking about social media movements. The students also know that Taymore is just doing this to deflect attention away from some of the unacceptable behavior of a small number of my colleagues. Most of you may think that they are harmless students but from firsthand experience I can say that they are not a monolithic group. There are students who are intelligent enough to do some damage to the administration and there are also students who are short tempered. The number of students in uproar over the change seems to be at least 90% of the school and they are already thinking of ways to get revenge on the administration. This has the potential to get serious and I do not think people realize that.
The grammatical and spelling errors in this posting are glaring. Who is "inside source"? The poster claims 90% of students are "in an uproar" about removing the feathers. Exaggerated numbers at the very least. His/Her statements: that students will "take revenge on the administration", that there are students who "are short tempered", that some students are "not harmless" and that there is a "potential to get serious" are threatening violence. They are sick and disturbing, if true. Perhaps the mascot issue is a trigger for all the underlying issues affecting every level of our school community which deflects, suppresses, and postpones dealing with the problems in our community.
The Melrose Alliance Against Violence and The Melrose Human Rights Commission should should step up and take the lead on organizing a public forum to discuss this issue. Maybe the OCR investigators could help guide and monitor a series of conversations. Interesting article in today's Boston Globe about the forum held this week in Newton. Quotes from Mayor Warren about the student involvement is encouraging.
Alexa Majors and Jessica Buster called for the Newton type of Community Forum around MLK time in January. Their group as well as the MHRC and MAAV could lead this action.
Insider, if you are who you say you are then please say what you mean instead of just insinuating. If what you are saying is that some MHS students are ready to act violently or in the process of coming up with such a plan, then go to the POLICE. Do not hide behind a message board please.
Mercer and Dolan seem to be cheerleading to maintain the Red Raiders mascot. They are promoting the use of a culturally insensitive symbol more than valuing the identity and traditions of others. Google the words "Red Raiders" and the definitions are spelled out clearly. Melrose is a city whose school system is known for OCR violations and a revolving door of poor administrators making poor decisions. Taymore made the right call this time. Will she will stick by her decision when the sports parents lobby begins to make noises? She had to do something proactive to impress the OCR monitors. We'll see. If there are a group of MHS students who are threatening to act as a spoiled and immature bunch of thugs unless the feathers are returned, then the MPS have really hit bottom.
What unmitigated nonsense. What's next? Making the Celtics change their name and stop using a leprechaun as a mascot because it denigrates the Irish?
What about "Wakefield Warriors"? Their logo is a Native American wearing a full headdress. Ask any Native American and they will tell you that being called a warrior is one of the highest honorifics one can receive.
This is nothing more than a smokescreen designed to demonstrate how "culturally sensitive" the administration is, when of course they are anything but.
How about the Melrose Marshmallows, yea teams go soft , go sweet