Colonial voted out as Acton-Boxborough school mascot

ACTON — The Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee unanimously voted on Thursday to retire the Colonial as the school mascot.

The committee voted yes on the motion, which was amended to state, "We move to retire the AB Colonial mascot, recognizing that there are many positive attributes of our town’s history that we associate with the students of the Acton-Boxborough School District, with the understanding that programs and new purchases made by the district will no longer bear the name Colonials. The changes to existing capital items such as uniforms, scoreboards and other items will be changed as time and funding permits."

A petition calling for the removal of the AB Colonial was started by the student group Acton-Boxborough Students for Equity and Justice and first brought to the committee's attention in July. During its Sept. 17 meeting, the committee heard a formal presentation made by student leaders of ABSEJ. They spoke of the divisiveness of a mascot that did not fully represent the diverse school community and how colonialism is associated with racism and oppression.

Many local leaders and community groups voiced their support, including state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton; Racial Justice for Black Lives; and Educators Committed to Anti-Racism, Equity and Social Justice (ECARES).

A counter-petition to save the mascot also began circulating online and like the original petition, has received more than 2,000 signatures. This petition, however, which was also started by students, was not formally presented to the committee for consideration.

About three weeks ago, School Committee Chair Tessa McKinley sent a letter to the community asking for public comment as the committee considered the petition to retire the mascot. Since then, the committee has received nearly 700 emails from both those who wish to remove the mascot and those who want to keep it.

“In my time on the committee, that far exceeds any other issue we have taken up, including the reopening of schools in the midst of a pandemic," McKinley said.

The question to retire the Colonial mascot proved to be divisive, with many students, alumni and community members sharing strong opinions on both sides. The debate got heated on social media as well. In her opening statement, McKinley addressed the negative tone evident in some responses that committee members received.

“We stated our desire to be in this position but we are also parents and neighbors; our kids go to school with yours; we shop in the same grocery stores, we borrow from the same libraries," she said. "The tone that some have taken in their disappointment over the last few days is disgraceful. A few weeks ago the students in our district were reminded by the counseling department to be kind in their remarks to others; apparently, the grown-ups should have got the reminder as well."

Committee member Evelyn Abayaah-Issah spoke about the frustration she felt at some of the backlash received.

“The fact that so many of you are so fired up by this topic, it's evident to me that Acton-Boxborough has a long way to go as a community when it comes to equity, diversity and inclusion," she said.

While McKinley expressed disappointment in the adult behavior, she praised the thoughtfulness and respect shown by hundreds of students who emailed the committee over the last several weeks regarding the mascot.

During Thursday's meeting which was held both in person and virtually, Superintendent of Schools Peter Light and Acton-Boxborough Principal Larry Dorey gave statements.

"In my opinion, the mascot should be a symbol that unites and instills pride in every student and staff member at the high school," Dorey said. "By reason we are here tonight it is evident to me that the Colonial mascot no longer unites or inspires pride in all of our students and all of our staff."

As the meeting wore on, there was some debate over whether to move forward Thursday or delay the vote. The unanimous vote to retire the mascot surprised even McKinley.

"Wow, not on Earth did I expect to get a unanimous vote on that," she said.