A group of students are asking the Seneca Valley School District to take a closer look at the school’s nickname.
At a school board meeting earlier this week, students highlighted the history of the district’s “Raiders” nickname. Student Claire McCafferty said the students’ research found interesting results.
“In our research, we see disrespectful depictions of the Raider with little to no consultation of the Seneca people,” McCafferty said. “We see these stereotypical depictions in things like yearbooks.”
The Raider nickname has been used by the district since 1961.
Board members said they appreciated the students’ findings.
“We were incredibly impressed at the detailed, well-documented and vetted research that contributed to their proposal for retiring the Raider name and mascot,” board president Eric DiTullio said in a statement.
“We will need to discuss it as a group to determine next steps, so it’s too early at this point to put a timeline on what will occur next. However, we would like to assure the students and our school community that any future discussions regarding the status of the mascot and Raider name will be done so in public and allow for community input.”
View the students full presentation below: