By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board voted Monday night to change the Hays Middle School mascot to the Indians.
The Indians have long been the mascot for Hays High School.
The district is undergoing a $143 million bond issue. A new high school is being built, and the current high school, which is on the same campus, will be renovated to serve as the new middle school.
In 2022, a majority of community members said in a survey they supported the Indian mascot and the HMS and HHS mascots being the same.
Although uniting the mascots was discussed at that time, the change did not pass.
A survey issued to HMS staff last week also indicated a majority—41 out of 57 staff members—supported the HMS and HHS mascots being unified as the Indians.
Two weeks ago, board member Jayme Goetz asked the board to reconsider the question of the HMS mascot.
SEE RELATED STORY: Hays USD 489 BOE discusses changing middle school mascot to Indians
"I think based on these survey results and based on the overwhelming support I have received, I would be in favor of proceeding as one entity as one mascot, one unity," Goetz said.
After a brief discussion on Monday, the board voted 5-2 to change the middle school mascot to the Indians. Board members Meagan Zampieri-Lillpopp and Ken Brooks voted against the motion.
Board member Ruth Ruder said the logo is no longer an Indian headdress but an arrowhead with an H.
"I say we move forward now so coaches and teachers can move forward with where our district is heading, and we move away from this moving forward. One unit, one unity, one campus," Ruder said.
The HMS athletic director told the board members at their last meeting he was under a deadline to order uniforms for the next school year.
Zampieri-Lillpopp said the surveys indicated a number of people supported having the same mascot at both schools, but not necessarily the Indian mascot.
"As we are moving into trauma-informed models in a number of our schools, understanding historical and generation trauma imposed on people who were here before we were is very important," Zampieri-Lillpopp said.
She also said she thought it was inappropriate to bring the mascot issue to the board again when the board had previously voted on it. She said no new information was presented to warrant a reconsideration.
Board member Curt Vajanr said the issue failed last year in a tie 3-3 vote because a board member was absent. All seven board members were present last night.
Two members of the public spoke against the mascot change during the public comment session at the beginning of the meeting.
Anna Towns of Hays spoke against having the Indians as a district mascot for the second meeting in a row.
Towns read from a University of Kansas blog that quoted research by Stephanie Fryberg, PhD, about the negative effects of Native American mascots on young Native Americans.
According to the research, Native American mascots lowered self-esteem, academic goals, and sense of community worth and increased suicidal ideation and depression among Native American youth.
The research also showed exposure to Native American mascots resulted in increases in white college students discriminating against all people of color.
"Americans need to ask themselves why they want to hold onto something, especially if science tells us that it's harmful to that group," Towns said.
Cheryl Duffy of Hays also spoke against the use of the Indian mascot.
Duffy said the Kansas Board of Education recommended in November 2022 that all schools in the state abandon native American mascots in the next five years.
The American Psychological Association recommended against the use of Native American mascots in 2005. The National Congress of American Indians, which represents hundreds of tribes and millions of individuals, has also denounced the use of Native American mascots.
"Either we care about them, or we don't," Duffy said of Native American young people.