By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

Bruce Bell – alumni of the Scarborough High School class of 1959 – “is, and always will be, a Redskin,” he said.

“I’m proud of my heritage,” he told Scarborough town councilors last week. “It’s old, I know it’s old, but the current [Red Storm mascot] doesn’t instill the level of pride that the old [Redskin mascot] did.”

Bell is one of several Scarborough alumni who requested the town council place a “non-binding” referendum question on the Nov. 4 ballot asking voters if they would be in favor of changing the current Scarborough High School mascot, Red Storm, to some other crimson-colored figure. Superintendent David Doyle said he was surprised alumni in favor of another name change – the school went from Redskin to Red Storm eight years ago – didn’t discuss the issue with the school board first. 

“The law is very clear, the board of education has control of the care and maintenance of the school department,” Doyle said. “[The school board] would have been the place to start.”

While the town council unanimously approved Bell’s request to put a fact-finding question on the ballot, a majority of councilors agreed the original Redskin mascot would not be an appropriate change. 

“I am not in favor of going backwards, we want to make a forward-looking change,” Councilor Sylvia Most said. “The ship has sailed on [the Redskin mascot].”

Council Chairman Jeff Messer said he thought the Redskin mascot was offensive but linking Scarborough’s Native American history with local sports teams was still a good idea.

“I challenge anyone to tell me how the word ‘Indian’ is offensive,” he said. “I think [an Indian mascot] or the ‘Chiefs’ should certainly be considered.”

Other councilors sympathized with Bell’s opinion of the Redskin mascot. Councilors Ron Alqhuist, Richard Sullivan and Carol Rancourt – who served on the school board during the change to Red Storm – said they both attended Scarborough schools under the old mascot.

“It was a sad day when they took the Indian chief off the high school,” Sullivan said. “There are a lot of people who don’t feel they got a fair shake in the process. It’s not a waste of time, if it had been done right in the first place we wouldn’t be talking about it now.”

Messer said although the council “has zero say in the matter,” he was disappointed to hear Doyle comment the mascot issue was not a priority for the school board. 

“[Ignoring the issue] is losing support for the school budget,” Messer said. 

Doyle said while he did feel there were issues that had “a more direct impact on the entire student body” on the school board’s plate, he understood the attachment to the old mascot.

“There are alumni who are Redskins. That’s fine, it’s part of their history,” he said. “I’m not asking anybody to change history.”

Should a majority of voters indicate they are in favor of a mascot change, Bell suggested the school board form a “mascot committee” – containing at least two members of the public – to generate a variety of names. The final choice should be decided by voters in another referendum, he said.