Ellie Kim

Personally, I was glad to see the Indian mascot retired, and as a senior, I’m excited to be able to graduate with a new mascot. However, that doesn’t change the fact that I wish the district had been more transparent with the mascot selection process. After being given the opportunity to be a member of the Mascot Selection Committee, I couldn’t wait to have another staff writer provide coverage on the meetings and overall process. When we were informed that these meetings would be completely closed off to the public and reporters, I was surprised—as a student reporter and a community member. It was frustrating that we couldn’t have a writer attend the meetings in order to report and accurately characterize the process for our school community. It would be impossible to have every student and teacher in PV involved in selecting the mascot options, but I believe that people who weren’t part of the mascot committee would’ve appreciated more transparency and communication. Many of my friends and fellow students felt as if they had no say in selecting the mascot options. In addition, seeing as there were 68 members, in order for an individual to have their thoughts heard, they had to speak in front of the entire committee. This posed a problem for those who weren’t confident enough to be the sole speaker and center of attention—a factor that was only increased with the meetings being held virtually. There were many members who never spoke during a single meeting.  Despite this, I do acknowledge the importance in creating an environment where committee members feel safe and unjudged for their words. I look forward to seeing which of the three options becomes our new mascot, and I’m thankful that the district has taken steps to ensure that PV will have a mascot we can all be proud of.