North Side High School will have a new mascot next school year. Students voted to change the school’s nickname to Legends. The school’s current nickname has been subject to controversy.
North Side High School’s moniker has been the Redskins since the school opened in 1927. But this past summer members of the Board of School Trustees decided the old nickname needed to change.
Krista Stockman, spokeswoman for Fort Wayne Community Schools, says the name was never meant to be offensive, but public perception of the word has changed.
“It really doesn’t line up with our core values of honoring the diversity that we have in our schools and in our cities,” she said.
Legends will become the nickname in the 2016-2017 school year. The new logo and mascot have yet to be decided, but the school’s colors will remain red and white.
Stockman says the school district doesn’t have the funding to change everything immediately. Logos on the wall will be painted over, but bigger items, like the large stained glass window and the flooring, will have to wait.
About 75 names were suggested by students, faculty and staff for the new nickname. Of those names, eight were chosen, and students voted on the four finalists: Falcons, Legends, Night Hawks and Raptors. Students chose Legends, and North Side High School alumni provided input.
