Erasing history? CSU students want to change mascot dubbed an “icon of genocide”
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via Long Beach Athletics Facebook
Students are turning their backs on California State University-Long Beach’s (CSULB) mascot, Prospector Pete, calling the statue an “icon of genocide.”
Dubbed the spirit of the 49ers, Prospector Pete has been found as part of the nation’s ongoing dialogue regarding confederate monuments as well as historical statues on college campuses.
Rudy Sequoia, a senior at CSULB studying criminal justice, spoke to the Daily 49er, CSULB’s student-run newspaper, regarding his personal contempt towards the school statue.
“It’s offensive, this tradition is based on bad history,” Sequoia expressed.
Apparently, the statue is so offensive there isn’t even room for debate concerning its presence.
“We shouldn’t even be talking about it anymore, we should be discussing what the new mascot will be,” Sequoia added.
American Indian Studies director and professor Craig Stone asserts that Prospector Pete has a strong racial association known throughout the state. He has been in favor of the removal of the CSULB mascot since 1976.
“Especially for California Indians, Prospector Pete is an icon of genocide… This is actually a long standing concern of the Native American community on campus from the ‘70s onward,” Stone lamented.
Stone’s reasoning for expelling the statue from the Long Beach campus encompass arguments on the grounds of the racial, historical upbringing of the school, as well as the events that transpired between the actual “49ers,” CSULB’s nickname, and that of Native Americans.
According to Stone, the mass murder of the indigenous people of California during the historic seven-year Gold Rush during the 1800’s is unknown to many.
CSULB President Jane Conoley has appointed a panel of professors and administrators to examine Prospector Pete and the fate of its setting.
“If you want change, you have to embrace perseverance,” Stone stated. “It’s neat that the time may have finally come where this might actually change.”
Students have apparently discussed alternatives to Prospector Pete, including a complete rebranding of the CSULB mascot.
“Some people have renamed [Prospector Pete] Ernest Hemingway because he looks like him and he doesn’t have a cowboy hat,” Sequoia claimed. “It could be a cheap alternative to changing our mascot.”
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Source: Red Alert Politics
