A mascot in a school isn’t just something to see at a game or an event, it is much more than that. With the current issue of Eaton High School’s mascot dealing with racism, and the building of the new high school in progress, the district thought it would be a good time to rebrand the school logo and mascot. The district allowed students to think of ideas for the new mascot before deciding to just stick with the classic Eaton E. 

The designs that the students made were endless, some of them being very thought out and intricate. There ended up being a handful of designs that were chosen as the best candidates for the new mascot. The district then let the students, staff, and community vote for what the new mascot should be, and the classic E was victorious. The choices that were made resulted in strong Eaton High School’s new representative being the letter E. Whether the E is in block or script form, it still is just a letter that represents the school we work hard to speak for.

The issue that this raises is that the mascot was never really changed. Eaton should be represented with a strong mascot that is thought of when other teams and schools think of our fierce and strong community. Just a plain old E doesn’t do these thoughts justice. There were many great ideas that the students and community members thought of just to be beaten by a “Block” or “Script” E, which were not initially choices in the voting process. A huge part of Eaton’s schools are sports. Eaton has excellent sports teams all across the board. When a sports team goes out onto the court, or the field, they want to be energized and motivated. A school mascot inspires school spirit, and really brings a school together. Mascots give students and athletes a sense of belonging. When you see a mascot every single day inside the school, you get attached. When you are on a sports team you are representing your school, community, and your school’s mascot. 

Much like a symbol, a mascot really speaks for something. People at the school want an energizing, inspiring symbol to represent them. Some of the designs that the students came up with were animals, like a strong bull or a fierce rhino. Other designs included people, like a farmer or an outlaw. Many designs were more of a thoughtful and symbolic representor than a simple letter. The school wanted a rebranding, but instead they stuck with a mascot that the school has used in the past.

Even though the change of the mascot may have been necessary, a lot of the students at Eaton High School aren’t happy with the minimal change. Students want something that can represent not only their school, but their grit, attitude, and their entire community. Students got to spend their time thinking about a future design that could represent the students of Eaton High School, just to be topped by a design that was already a part of their school.