Redhawks or Bison?
Those are the two options a committee of Tulsa's Union Public Schools stakeholders is considering following an almost yearlong search, which narrowed down a list of more than 320 potential mascots to two.
A Mascot Advisory Committee considered hundreds of names, but felt these two were the best.
Now, Union Public Schools is asking for help narrowing down to one. Students, staff and community members are asked to visit the district’s website to submit their thoughts on which mascot they prefer.
"This input will be used to inform the design of Union’s future mascot," Chris Payne, Chief Communications Officer for Union Public Schools said in a statement. "Ultimately, Union High School students will have the final say, as this is their mascot."
The school says they intend to keep a red and black color scheme, regardless of which of the two mascots is selected.
The school's former mascot was a name that is considered offensive and a racial slur towards Native Americans. That name was retired in November 2020 after 75 years of use. The NFL Washington Football Team dropped the same name just a few months prior.
Last month, a group of Tulsa Public Schools parents requested a mascot change at Central and Webster middle and high schools from the Braves and Warriors, respectively. Tulsa’s Board of Education has created an ad hoc committee to review those school nicknames.
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