After years of debate, attitudes appear to be changing in Paw Paw regarding the use of the Redskins mascot for the high school. Paw Paw Public Schools superintendent Rick Reo is recommending the retirement of the mascot and logo at the end of this school year, with action expected Monday by the school board. He held a meeting on it Tuesday night.
“The reason we’re talking about this is we’re divided, and I think there was agreement on that with a lot of folks; people are acknowledging this is a divisive issue and people are really passionate on both sides,” said Reo. “People feel very strongly about it, but I also think there was a message of unity. We want to come together. Is there some way we can come together on this and move forward?”
His comments were shared by our newsgathering partners at WSBT-22, and Reo says his opinion has changed since taking the superintendent job last summer.
“I’ve been in this community for a long time, I’ve been a real strong supporter of the Paw Paw Redskins,” said Reo. “As superintendent, I’ve seen how this impacts us as a community and us as a school.”
The meeting was closed to reporters, but one person said after leaving that it seemed around 60% of those attending favor moving on from the use of a term now viewed as racist.
