Melrose Red Raider's Fate Will Be Decided By School Committee This School Year

MELROSE, MA — The School Committee will make the final call on the Red Raider and expects to decide the contentious issue later this school year.

The conversation about whether the district should ditch the mascot and moniker is the same here as it is in every community it surfaces in: Tense, emotional and unfortunately waged largely on social media.

But there's another conversation at hand: Who ultimately decides whether it stays or goes.

A new group in town says it's not a trivial question, but rather an important legal one after High School Principal Jason Merrill kicked off the process in earnest earlier this summer. The Melrose Transparency Initiative argues state law suggests it's the School Committee that must make that decision, not the administration.

Asked for clarity, School Committee Chair Jen McAndrew told Patch Monday the School Committee will indeed have the last word.

"Yes, the School Committee will make the final decision as to whether to change the Melrose High School mascot-nickname and, if so, what to change it to," she said in an emailed statement. "We anticipate having this vote during the second half of the school year."

City Solicitor Shannon Phillips did not respond to questions about whether she had an opinion on where the authority lies.

What do you think about the efforts to move on from the Red Raider? Patch wants to publish reasonably argued opinions on both sides of the issue. Email your take to mike.carraggi@patch.com.

Merrill said in August it is time to move away from the Red Raider.

"We know that the red raider has also been depicted as a Viking, a bandit, and even has ties to a WWII fighter squadron," Merrill said. "But, I simply cannot deny the connection between the red raider or raider and offensive Native American imagery."

In October a survey was released soliciting suggestions for a new mascot and nickname, something Merrill said was the "first step in a longer process" and was not necessarily going to influence the final result.

Efforts have been made at the state level to ban Native American imagery from schools amid an outcry from Indigenous people who say they are offensive and fail to honor their history. A bill, sponsored by Sen. Jason Lewis, has been favorably recommended by Joint Committee on Education and sits in the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. Any potential action on it isn't likely for several months still.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi and Instagram at Melrose Happening. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.