After collecting recommendations from its student members, PV Mascot Selection Committee student representative Vasili Karalewich said that the committee was able to compile 53 mascot suggestions after holding its second meeting Thursday afternoon in PV’s auditorium and through Zoom.  

“[The committee] basically talked about what the next step in the [mascot selection process] is going to be, and exactly how much rationale the committee [is] going to give to each mascot,” committee student representative Delia Collis said. 

Although the meetings are not open to non-members or the press, organizers John Puccio, PV’s Assistant Principal, Shawn Buchanan, PV’s Athletics Director, Karalewich, and Collis made themselves available for questions afterward.

Karalewich said that the committee will create a Google Doc that consists of all 53 mascot suggestions so that members of the committee can comment on which choices they would like to keep or exclude. 

“The top three suggested mascots aren’t necessarily going to be the top three mascots that we choose [to present to the student body] because we want to add rationale to our decisions,” Karalewich said. 

Collis said that the committee cannot reveal any suggested mascot names at this time. 

“We want to make sure that [choosing the mascot] is done correctly, that no corners are cut, and [that] everybody’s opinion is heard, so that we can make sure [we choose] a mascot that everyone likes, even if it takes more time,” Collis said. 

The committee is not considering the Indians as a mascot suggestion for Pascack Valley because it does not “fit the criteria,” according to Collis. 

“[District Superintendent Erik] Gundersen said that the Indians didn’t fall in line for the criteria that he set for the committee; therefore, we can’t even discuss it, so we just omitted that name [from the list of mascot suggestions],” Karalewich said.

Although the next committee meeting date is yet to be determined, Karalewich said that the committee plans on discussing the mascot options from the Google Doc during its next meeting, so that it can narrow down its choices. 

Collis said that the committee does not yet have a specific date on which it plans to present its final mascot suggestion to the Board of Education. 

“Setting a timeline is difficult because the amount of discussion that took place today was amazing,” Puccio said. “Everyone’s looking at things differently and some people came up with a suggestion that no one [else] thought of. It’s going to be a process, and discussion and justifications [will] dictate where this goes.”