April 25 2019: Armijo Mascot Change

At the last board meeting there was a lot of public interest in the decision to change the Armijo High School mascot. Before the vote was taken each of the eight board members gave a statement/explanation. Here was mine.

“I watched the committee. It was painful for all. Nobody came away feeling good, and I hope that no matter the final decision, nobody celebrates.

“Our history has given us this difficult situation. A mascot is supposed to give us a symbol that can be creatively exaggerated, that supporters can heroize and opponents can ridicule. Although my three kids all went to Armijo and remain proud of their mascot, when I was in high school I went to the crosstown rival. Every game day my friends and I were endlessly clever in coming up with ways to insult our opponent and their mascot. A mascot is not supposed to be taken personally, it’s supposed to be light-hearted, not something that gets tangled up in national controversies about racism.

“I’m convinced that the deep affection among the people in this community for that symbol does not arise from racism.

“But times are changing, and I’m going to vote to change the mascot and remove this question from the younger generation. Let the younger generation start fresh with their own issues and burdens.”

The item was approved by unanimous vote. Here is the Daily Republic article on the meeting: Click here. (https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-dr-news/solano-news/fairfield/school-board-votes-to-replace-armijo-indian-mascot/)