WISCONSIN: Bill introduced to guard race-based School Nicknames

Republican legislators in Wisconsin introduced a bill Thursday that would make it harder to strip public schools of race-based nicknames and allow schools already ordered to drop such monikers to keep them. 

The proposal stems from a Milwaukee-area school district's refusal to follow a state order to drop its "Indians" name. It comes amid a rekindling of the national debate over race-based nicknames, including a push to get the Washington Redskins to change names.

The bill, which one Native American official described as racist, would require anyone seeking to change a school nickname to get enough petition signatures from district residents to equal or exceed one-tenth of the number of district students. The complainant would then have to prove that the name promotes discrimination, student harassment or stereotyping. The state Department of Administration would make the final call on whether the district would have to drop the name.

[...] 

The proposal would dramatically change Wisconsin law, which currently allows a single person to file a complaint, places the burden of proof on a district to show the nickname isn't discriminatory and allows the Department of Public Instruction to order name changes.

"This legislation is a good step in recognizing that a single individual should not be able to dictate their will over a whole community and in the process deprive an entire group of people their right to due process," said state Rep. Dave Craig, R-Big Bend. "As a resident of the Mukwonago School District, I hope my colleagues will join us in reversing the wrongs that we have imposed on many of our state's school districts by passing this legislation without delay."

Read the full story HERE.

School/Team nicknames have always been a source of pride and camaraderie for their students. I could never understand the reasoning behind those wanting to change long standing traditions for the sake of political correctness. AM I WRONG?

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