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In my Opinion: Let community decide fate of mascot

By Kenny Varner
Whatever happened to common sense?
Each day it seems like life loses a little more of it.
Another long-standing and respected team mascot may be on its way out.
Last night at the Bellefonte School Board meeting, the group voted to get rid of any of its logos that have anything to do with the Native American traditions.
Chalk another one up to the Cancel (Cancer) culture.
I think it’s just terrible that just a handful of people can make a decision for an entire community and decades of Alumnus’s to just strip away its past,present and future in just one meeting.
Being a product of MIfflin County, I have no “dog” in this issue so I’m writing this from an outsider’s view.
From year’s of covering Bellefonte sports, I never saw anything derogatory being said or done with the name Red Raiders.
It was always a source of pride for the athletes, coaches, fans and the community in general.
When you think “Raider Nation” you think about PRIDE. Pride in representing your school and its mascots.
As a kid growing up in Lewistown, we had rivals like the Chief Logan Mingoes, Kish Indians, Juniata Indians and Bellefonte Red Raiders, never when we would play them in any sport was it a racial slur it was called respecting these great Warriors that were legends in our area, Everything that they fought for and believed in.
Why has it come to the point where it’s a slam on the American Indians?
They are a proud people and deserved to be honored in the way that modern Presidents and other Schools are named after.
Also, If you are going to change the name of the Mascot, shouldn’t that be a decision that should made by the former and current students by the democratic process.
It’s called voting not selecting.
For me, I’ll step back and let the powers that be do what they want to do because I’m just an outsider giving his personal view.
I hope I’m still allowed to do that.
This is not to attack anyone or any particular person but just to give my opinion on the situation and have people stop and use some strong common sense before making such a strong and long lasting decision.
By the way, in my family tree I also have American Indian descent.

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