Ohio High School Replaces Civil War ‘Rebel’ Mascot with Another ‘Rebel’ Mascot

A high school in Willoughby, Ohio, recently announced it was removing its rebel mascot from its campus and school attire. The school superintendent announced the decision last week, saying the school district had decided that “times have changed,” and the caricature of a Civil War soldier with an “X” on his hat now has a “negative connotation.”

Superintendent Steve Thompson said at a press conference that the school “has made the move to identify a new figure to represent our South High School rebels.”

Thompson said the Civil War icon “was done as a symbol of the history of the country but like many things times have changed and the rebel mascot has now taken on negative connotation and as [a] district we do not think it is in the best interest of the community and our students to perpetuate this sentiment.”

But on Twitter on Friday, the high school’s principal said the school is seeking ideas to “rejuvenate” the rebel and included some submissions in the tweet — all of them depicting soldiers in uniform, and one including a Betsy Ross flag of the 13 original American colonies:

@SOUTH_Principal @Thompson_WESsup We have had great suggestions sent to South.mascot@weschools.org. Read the details here. #weschools pic.twitter.com/3W3ufgXTq3

— W-E Schools (@WESchools) August 25, 2017

“Thank you Mayor David Anderson, Mr. Wade Mitchell and Mr. Kip Marlow for your collaboration with the South High Principal’s Advisory Panel,” South High School Principal Zachary Weagley tweeted.

“This morning these three gentlemen met with the students and Mr. Weagley to discuss the Rebel Mascot,” Weagley tweeted.

“It was determined by the group that the mascot for South High would continue to be named the “Rebel.” The group also decided that they would like to ‘rejuvenate’ the way the Rebel currently appears,” Weagley tweeted.

The tweet asks for drawings and suggestions to be emailed to the school so they can be shared with the student/alumni committee.

“In the past, the confederate flag was also part of the high school imagery, but the district removed all flag references in the early 90s,” a local Fox affiliate reported.

Fox said sources in the school district stated that the decision on the changing mascot had “been in the works for awhile” but that the events this month in Charlottesville, Virginia, may have “sped up the process.”

Willoughby Eastlake schools public relations coordinator, Catharine Beal, sent a statement to Fox: “In light of the changing perception of the Civil War rebel icon, Willoughby-Eastlake City School has made a decision to move forward to identify a new figure to represent the South High Rebels.”