How Best To Resolve Impasse Over School Mascot Names?

Odd, isn’t it, that an emblem meant to unify should become so divisive?

We speak, of course, of the recurrent uproars over mascots chosen by schools and professional sports teams as an identity around which to rally the enthusiasm of their supporters.

The most heated dispute in this region at present is that over the Colville High School Indians. Some Native Americans in the area have requested that the Colville School Board change Indian-related mascot names for its various schools. Last month, however, alumni of the school voted 473-18 to oppose any name change.

There is no shortage of opinions on the matter and they do not necessarily follow racial or ethnic lines. Generally, it’s a debate over tradition, respect and sensitivity. Passions are real and feelings valid on both sides of the argument, and a reasonable middle ground is elusive.

What’s longed for in this and countless situations like it is a creative approach that honors diversity and reflects tradition and gives school communities something that unites rather than divides them.

Suggestions?

Should the $17-Grand solution be applied all over?

Traffic patterns on Spokane’s South Hill are provoking strong reactions from motorists during a month or more of repairs on Grand Boulevard.

As numerous recent letters to the editor indicate, the city’s decision to place barriers in the way of vehicles seeking shortcuts through nearby neighborhoods is not universally admired.

At an estimated cost of $17,000, the City Council authorized the barriers that are meant to discourage drivers from using Garfield or Rockwood Boulevard as quick ways around the disruption on Grand.

The fact is that upscale neighborhood was already a convenient route for people escaping traffic bottlenecks on more heavily traveled arterials. When finished, the work on Grand should make that street more attractive and actually ease some of the burden in the Rockwood area.

But there are other neighborhoods in town, less influential politically, where similar situations exist. How should the city respond to protect all residential neighborhoods from infusions of commuter traffic without turning them into publicly subsidized gated communities and without forcing drivers to endure nerve-fraying congestion on the arterials and feeder routes they’re expected to follow?

, DataTimes MEMO: “Bagpipes” appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. To respond, call Cityline at 458-8800, category 9881, from a Touch-Tone phone; or send a fax to 459-5098 or e-mail to dougf@spokesman.com. You also can leave Doug Floyd a message at 459-5577, extension 5466.