Mascot Committee Accepting North Haven Submissions Until Friday

North Haven CT

10 November, 2021

5:26 PM

Description

NORTH HAVEN, CT — The North Haven Mascot Committee is accepting submissions for the school district''s new mascot through Friday at 5 p.m., the town announced in a news release. Anyone is welcome to download a submission form here. Votes for the best design will begin Dec. 6. The town has been searching for a new mascot to replace its "Indians" name and mascot since July, when the Board of Education unanimously voted to scrap a name that had been a source of controversy for years. In addition to being deemed offensive and culturally insensitive, the town stood to lose nearly $87,000 in annual state funding provided by the Mashuntucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, according to the New Haven Register. To replace the mascot, the town formed the North Haven Mascot Committee, a selection committee composed of board members, students, teachers, administrators, parents, booster club members, North Haven residents, and members of the Indigenous community of North Haven. After several sessions, the committee released guidelines for community submissions. Submissions must fall under the acronym "TEAMS": North Haven Town Pride, Exciting, Authentic, Meaningful, and Sensitive. Submissions should connect to North Haven, be fun, exciting, unique to North Haven, and "something everyone can be proud of," to quote the submission form. Each North Haven elementary school will submit two ideas for each mascot, while grades 6-12 will submit one idea for a mascot. Each North Haven resident is entitled to submit one submission online. Proof of residence is required. Once all submissions have been received and all duplicates removed, the committee will send out all final entries for a vote starting Dec. 6. It is unknown when the final winner will be announced. For more information, email [email protected].