Group fights for school nickname
Hits Natick panel vote on Redmen
NATICK - Supporters of the Redmen nickname have already begun efforts to overturn a School Committee decision to stand firm in its commitment to dump the name and end the lengthy debate that has turned this western suburb upside down.
The school board voted 7 to 0 Monday night to uphold its January 2007 decision to scrap the name, in a move that signaled victory for those who believe the moniker is derogatory to Native Americans, but led others who want to retain the status quo to pledge to force a November vote to rescind the change.
The decision follows emotional public meetings, legal opinions that swung both ways, and a nonbinding referendum in March in which 65 percent of 10,000 voters asked the School Committee to rethink its decision.
Members of the group Redmen Forever began yesterday to gather the signatures needed to place a binding question on the fall election ballot to overturn the decision. James Brown, cochairman of Redmen Forever, said the School Committee's decision was more than disappointing, given the popular vote in March, but not surprising.
"When you're objective, you believe what you see," he said. "When you're subjective, you see what you believe.
"For me, personally, the name Redmen is synonymous with Natick," Brown said. "If you're from Natick, you're a Redmen."
He said the name never has been, nor is it intended to be insulting to anyone. "It's an honorable and noble name," Brown said.
But Pete Sanfacon - who heads up the New England Anti-Mascot Coalition, based in Framingham - said he was gratified with the school board vote, which he believes is the right one.
"This is a national issue, not just one for Natick and Massachusetts," Sanfacon said. "It's been going on in this country since the 1920s, and there have been protests at all levels since the late 1960s. We're making slow progress."
School officials said that despite the controversy, the process was open and honest.
"All parties represented had the chance to respond," said Joseph Keefe, interim school superintendent. "And the most important aspect of the entire process was the openness and the civility in which the committee dealt with the matter."
A task force this spring opted to return to the district's original nickname of Red and Blue, and a contest involving students to come up with a new logo, which has been in limbo because of the disagreement, will now resume, Keefe said.
