Mascot in hands of students now
Gary Moskowitz
MAGNOLIA PARK -- For now, the school district is not questioning
whether John Burroughs High School should be using the Indian as its
mascot.
But the district is asking if the ways in which the school’s students
currently uses the Indian mascot are appropriate, and district officials
will be asking the student body.
“We are hoping to have a student study on the matter completed and
reported to the school board in January,” Burbank Unified School District
Supt. David Aponik said.
“We both want to emphasize that this is a great educational
opportunity for our students and the community. We want to make sure we
are honoring and respecting the American Indian.”
At a Monday morning meeting at John Burroughs High School, Aponik met
with Burroughs principal, Emilio Urioste, for more than an hour to
discuss the formation of a student committee that will be asked to
conduct research into the matter and report findings to Urioste and the
school board.
The decision to meet came slowly but surely on the heels of a memo
issued by Aponik to Urioste in July requesting that Urioste implement a
process of studying the use of the Indian mascot -- with the help of
Burroughs students.
Despite phone calls to Burroughs High School on Monday, Urioste was
unavailable for comment on the meeting, or the specific goals or
composition of the student committee.