Colusa's choice: RedHawks

Colusa High School's new mascot will be the RedHawks starting with the 2011-12 school year, replacing the Redskins moniker that has symbolized the school's sports teams for eight decades.

In an election that ended Nov. 21, students in grades 7-12, Colusa High alumni and district residents voted on three choices. With 1,310 ballots submitted — half each from students and staff on one side and city residents on the other — the RedHawks won with 48 percent of the vote, beating out the RiverHawks (33 percent) and Cougars (19 percent).

Larry Yeghoian, superintendent of the Colusa Unified School District, announced the vote's outcome Wednesday. The three choices were finalists culled from at least 19 suggestions the district received earlier.

School board members narrowly voted in April to discontinue the American Indian-themed mascot at the high school. The 3-2 vote came in the face of strenuous opposition from townspeople who defended the nickname, despite complaints from local Wintun and Maidu tribe members that the "Redskins" tag was offensive to Native Americans.

The change followed three unsuccessful campaigns in the state Assembly, from 2002 to 2005, to force Colusa High and four other North State schools to adopt new nicknames. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the last two attempts, saying local school districts should keep the right to choose their sports symbols.

With a new symbol in place, Yeghoian was ready to leave the year-long controversy behind.

"For me, it's part of the process of change," he said Thursday. "I'm satisfied we got through this in a smooth manner, and I'm happy for the support we've had to get to this point."

Egling Middle School and Burchfield Primary School will next select mascots similar in theme to the high school's RedHawks.

In the next six months, a new committee and high school representatives will work on logo designs and related artwork for the new mascot, according to Dave McGrath, the Colusa High principal. A ceremony to unveil the school's new athletic symbol is planned before the school year ends in June.

District officials have estimated the cost of replacing the mascot at $60,000.

Colusa High's change mirrors a similar move more than a decade ago at Miami University of Oxford, Ohio, whose sports squads also were known as the Redskins. The university adopted the RedHawks name in 1997.

The RedHawks name's debut leaves one remaining Mid-Valley high school with an overtly tribal-themed symbol — Marysville High, whose Indians teams include that football squad that will host the Lindhurst Blazers tonight for the Sac-Joaquin Section's Division VI championship.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com.