DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — Susquehanna township will once again use the nickname ‘the Indians’ after the school board voted to reinstate the name, but not the former logo.
On Monday night, the Susquehanna Township school board voted 6-2 to reinstate the Indians as the name of the school mascot.
“We’ve been at this for two years. I'm extremely disappointed that the last graduating class essentially graduated from Susquehanna Township," said Susquehanna Township Board President John Dietrich.
"It’s not the end of the world, they were Indians before. Hopefully, there’ll be Indians again after this evening," Dietrich continued.
Many in the community feel frustrated, as they believe the name and logo are offensive to the Native American community.
“We reached a settled solution, and then the board decides that it is a better use of their time to undo those decisions than to try to push things forward to find ways to deal with the funding changes that we’re going to have to face this year," said Thomas Iwancio, a parent of two students in the Susquehanna Township School District.
"If the goal is to honor the former indigenous people of this area, then we can do that without using an outdated term from the turn of the century," he said.
While the name will remain the same, the imagery will not. The board approved a mockup of a new logo that was designed by Dietrich.
Though, not all were in favor of it.
“I don’t think that one of our board members should take it upon himself to do this," said Board Member Jesse Rawls Sr.
In response, Dietrich said that having something was better than not having anything.