Eugene 4j School District: Retire the AXEMEN Mascot and Let Students Choose a Modern, Nondiscrimi...

We propose that the Students, Faculty, and administration of South Eugene High School work together to name and introduce a modern gender neutral mascot reflective of the current 4j district mission, goals, and nondiscrimination policy.

Please sign this petition if you agree that it is time for South Eugene High School to choose a new, inclusive mascot to ensure that all students are recognized equally and feel included in the school community.

Please comment. We want to hear your point of view.
Here are some of the comments already submitted by students, teachers, parents, and experts in discrimination:

• "I have one daughter there now and another soon. I didn't think this was important at first but then I thought about if the school mascot was the Axewomen how I would feel as a young boy going to that school."

• "It is no longer acceptable, in 2017, to have an outdated mascot that makes the male gender normative. Firemen are now firefighters; policemen are now police officers. These changes were made to make those professions welcoming and inclusive, and to reflect the equality of mens' and women's participation in them. Time to move forward and retire the Axemen."

• "The South Eugene High School Robotics Team promotes inclusivity and teamwork amongst all of its members. Being called "Axemen" does not support this modern team concept at all. I would like to see a mascot that reflects all team activities at South, including those that are coed."

• "If you look up the meaning of Axeman in the dictionary, its not representative of the SEHS student body. Why would we want to keep this name? It doesn't offer much value, and is clearly male based. axeman (ˈæksmən) or axman n, pl -men 1. a man who wields an axe, esp to cut down trees 2. a person who makes cuts in expenditure or services, esp on behalf of another: the chancellor's axeman. 3. (Pop Music) slang US a man who plays a musical instrument, esp a guitar."

• "I always feel odd when I am at the girls soccer games and "axemen" is part of the description. We need an update that reflects all of the students at South."

• "It's time to update it with something inclusive for all students, male, female and non binary. School spirit shouldn't be about gender and it shouldn't exclude students."

• "I’m a student at Roosevelt and by the time I get to south I would like to have my mascot be something that everyone can enjoy and that no one feels discriminated against by. That everyone feels equal." – Future SEHS Student

• "Since South Eugene High is still 2 years away for my family, I had no idea that the high school still employed such an absurd and sexist mascot. Frankly, this is embarrassing in 2017, and no, adding "axewomen" is not the fix. That simply draws attention to the absurdity of this mascot 45 years after Title IX. The alternatives are abundant. Choose one now, please."

• "With the current environment with harassment coming to light finally, we want to encourage and promote equality and fairness. The current mascot is nothing of that sort. As a mom of a daughter who cannot relate to the mascot, how is it fair for her to be called an axman? We are beyond this now. The archaic and chauvinist mascot needs to be replaced with something that all students can relate and be proud of."

• "Yay!" –SEHS varsity athlete

• "It's not only an embarrassment to have such a gendered mascot in this time, it also promotes social and psychological bias that effects the kids (of all genders) negatively. Now's the time to make a change."

• "I am so glad to see this issue has been brought to the forefront. I fully encourage, support and expect a name change. Empowering our young women to feel valued and equal is vital. There is great power in language and words absolutely matter. It is beyond time for gender equality in the South Eugene Highschool name." – 4j teacher

• " I graduated from south in 1996 and I’m not attached to the old mascot. If the kids want a new one for these modern times, I support that." – Alum

• "Please show our SEHS students that our community pays more than lip service to the concepts of equality and inclusiveness... Think about how empowered your students will feel and how this feeling will resonate into other areas of their lives and our community."

• "...Names that evoke solely male associations are dated and discriminatory. I think this is an opportunity for SEHS to lead the way for a more inclusive mascot." –Retired SEHS Teacher

• "As a Eugene resident I do not think that this outdated symbol of patriarchy is reflective of our communities values. Time for a change!"

• "Time to get the sexism and violence out of this mascot title. South Eugene can do better! Time for a new mascot name that is inclusive." – SEHS parent

• "I think that a non-inflammatory, gender-neutral mascot will be key in equitable progress... use of the word "man" or "men" to represent both men and women justifies it's use as an autohyponym (word that refers to a subset of itself, e.g. dog refers to the whole species as well as a male dog, or in this case "man" refers to all humans...), which in turn almost always convinces us that a) men are the greatest/most important/most powerful type of humans because they are the ones representing humans and b) justifies the thinking that men are the default because they are what the whole species is named after. To summarize this, use [of] men to represent [both] men and women makes us think [men] are better and the default." –SEHS Freshman Debate Student

• "I am a parent and pediatrician in the SEHS community. We need a gender neutral mascot." – Parent and PeaceHealth Pediatrician

• "It is time." - K-12 Teacher

• "Surprised this wasn't changed a long time ago!" – SEHS Parent

• "Time is now to change the male focused mascot." – Parent and Business Owner

• "We should have evolved the mascot 20 years ago. School changes, the world changes. Well past time to change the mascot." – Eugene MD
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