Letters: Much ado about the ‘Arab’ mascot

Re “When a mascot is offensive,” Editorial, Nov. 19

As a long-ago alum of Coachella Valley High School, I agree that the school’s “Arab” mascot needs a redesign. It looks like a creepy, scruffy, snaggle-toothed, disreputable thug, hardly anything any self-respecting Arab would want to identify with.

Times change, and I’m sure my wonderful old high school will keep pace by rethinking its mascot.

Ann Calhoun

Los Osos, Calif.

I am a Coachella Valley High School alum. The current controversy over the Arab mascot is alarming.

As a teacher, I find the misdirected attention from student achievement to the political correctness of the mascot another indication of our society’s misguided priorities and lack of effort to improve achievement. Let’s put our attention on the substantive subjects of students’ academic excellence and their graduation rate.

Joan Bushee

Escondido

I frequently travel through the Navajo reservation in northern Arizona. I chuckle every time I go by Red Mesa High School, which has a sign in front of its stadium that reads “Home of the Redskins.”

Richard Love

Calabasas

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