Friday, April 26, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
MASSENA -- Competing online petitions are taking aim at the Massena Central School District’s sports team name. One petition on Change.org urges the school and state to change the name from Red …
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MASSENA -- Competing online petitions are taking aim at the Massena Central School District’s sports team name.
One petition on Change.org urges the school and state to change the name from Red Raiders, which it says is racist.
Two others say the school should keep the name.
One of the petitions in favor of the status quo was started by Phillip Sharpe. He did not return a request for comment. As of late Wednesday afternoon, it had garnered 285 of 500 signatures.
“The name is more than just a name its [sic] a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation,” Sharpe wrote.
That petition is here.
A second petition with a similar aim had gathered nine signatures of a goal of 100. It did not have a name attached. It says it was started by Massena Red Raiders Athletics, with no other information.
That petition is here.
The petition urging the school to change the name says the moniker is racist and “creates shame and low self esteem for the Native students that attend Massena Central Schools.”
That petition also has no contact information for the person who created it. It is attributed to “Akwesasne” with no other details.
The petition is here.
