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Mascot in hands of students now

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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.

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