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Principal takes edge off mascot

The educator removes the knife from the pirate's mouth on his business cards.

By EDDY RAMIREZ
Published October 31, 2006

INVERNESS - School Board member Ginger Bryant wasn't thrilled when she heard that her alma mater was changing the look of the school mascot on its business cards.

But Crystal River High principal Patrick Simon thought the pirate picture needed a makeover.

On his new business card, the mascot will still wear an eye patch and a hat with the skull and crossbones. But the knife that is prominently displayed in his mouth will be gone.

Bryant, whose three children went to Crystal River High, doesn't know why Simon made the change, but she doesn't want it to go any further.

"I don't want anyone taking the knife out of my pirate," she said in the middle of a School Board meeting last week.

Bryant thinks it's time the board sets some guidelines that schools would be forced to follow before changing their mascots, changes that she says can "destroy" history and tradition.

"Just because you're a new principal, it doesn't mean you can change every doggone thing," Bryant said in an interview.

Mascots can spark some emotional debates.

In 2003, the father of a middle school student in West Palm Beach threatened to sue the School Board after his daughter came home with a T-shirt depicting Satan with horns, pointy ears and a thick mustache. Apparently he had no idea that his daughter's magnet school was also home of the devils.

In 2004, an elementary school in St. Lucie ditched its longtime mascot, the pirate, for a stingray even though the pirate had undergone an extensive makeover to make him more politically correct. An incident involving a student who was suspended for bringing a pocketknife to school had sparked the push.

Simon, who became principal at Crystal River High last year, said the only change he's making to the school's mascot is on his business cards.

He has misgivings about the message that he sends to other adults when he hands out cards that show a knife-wielding pirate.

"Our school's mission statement is 'Make Footprints With Your Heart,' " he said.

Simon thinks control over the look of a mascot should rest with the schools.

On Friday, he pointed out how the image of the pirate has evolved since it became the symbol of Crystal River High. Stacked in his office are yearbooks dating back to the 1960s. Each one portrayed the pirate in a different way.

During a pep rally before the game against Lecanto High, Simon also made note of the variations of the pirate on T-shirts and jerseys.

"We feel strongly about honoring tradition," Simon said. "But I also think it's important for students to have the opportunity to express their individuality - as long as it's not offensive."

With "Pirate Country" scrawled in big letters on the gymnasium walls, the rally featured students wearing all styles of T-shirts, some with a pirate and crossbones made of knifes and others that were more creative.

Sophomore Jamie Steffon wore a baby blue shirt that had a pirate skull with a pink bow. It was the only pirate T-shirt left at the student store, he said.

But even Steffon remains partial to the official logo: the pirate with a knife.

"It's suppose to scare the other school," he said. "Isn't that the point?"

Senior Ji-Wah Ng chose to show her pride with a T-shirt that her club made.

"Every pirate needs a parrot," it said in French and Spanish.

But that doesn't mean she would replace the knife in the pirate's mouth with a parrot on his shoulder.

"I like that it's fearsome and courageous," she said. "It gives you confidence."

Bryant said she is not advocating wresting control of the mascot away from the school.

"There are some principals who want to change some things, and that's fine," she said. "As long as they jump through the necessary hoops and gather input from the community to make sure the history is not destroyed."

Although she was "freaked out" when she first learned that Homosassa Elementary had switched its mascot from the venerable Indian to a dolphin named "Splash," Bryant said she was pleased that the school consulted the community first.

Principal Regina Allegretta said the change came after the death of Jessica Lunsford and after repairs were completed on a flawed cafeteria and media center. The school wanted to start anew, she said.

There also were complaints over the appropriateness of having Indians as a school mascot, she said.

The school did not settle on the dolphin as a mascot because that was Jessica's favorite stuffed animal, Allegretta explained. It just happened to be the popular choice of students and staff members.

When she polled the community, including the civic association, she found support for a change - to anything but a manatee.

The small fishing community didn't want its children to attend a school that celebrated an animal that it holds responsible for a ban on net fishing, Allegretta said.

"It took about a year," she said. "But I wanted to make sure I wasn't offending anybody.

"It's extremely important to speak to staff, the community, to your businesses," Allegretta added. "The school is the focus point of a community. Everyone needs to have a say in it, and have a voice."

Eddy Ramirez can be reached at eramirez@sptimes.com or 860-7305.

[Last modified October 30, 2006, 23:28:50]