Despite Student Sentiment, Twin Valley School District Won’t Prioritize Saying ‘Later’ to Mascot ‘Raider’

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girl with long hair
Image via FOX 29.
Arden Wolfe.

A student-led campaign to remove the Twin Valley School District’s mascot, the Raider, has gained little traction.

Superintendent Patrick Winters’s indicated that eliminating the imagery of a Native American in a feathered headdress is not among the district’s priorities right now. Maddie Hanna unmasked the details for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The campaign to retire the Raider for being culturally insensitive is led by Arden Wolfe, 17, a senior at Twin Valley High School. She said that administrators have not even given her a meeting and the school board has not considered the issue.

Wolfe said that the district seems to be “taking an approach — ‘If we ignore it, it might go away.’” She added that more than 5,600 people signed an online petition to change the mascot.

Her latest attempt to bring attention to her cause was during Tuesday’s school board meeting, where she rallied supporters to attend and make their position known.

Meanwhile, Winters said that “the perceived notion by the students of inaction related to the district’s mascot is simply not true.” But, he continued, “to attempt to give (it) its due diligence and time while we are still in the midst of a pandemic is irresponsible, especially when there are more pressing concerns and needs related to student learning.”

Read more about the Twin Valley School District in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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