Mascot Change At Anaheim Savanna High School

ANAHEIM, CA — Whether it is a bold move toward change or a case of revisionist history, the Savanna High School and Anaheim School Board Trustees decided to make a change to their mascot away from confederate ties. The rebranding is estimated to cost approximately $51,000 according to reports from the district.

Though the mascot's nickname will stay Rebels, the board is removing any ties of Anaheim's Savanna High School's mascot, Johnny Rebel, to the Confederacy. In the fall of 2017, an old Rebel statue was removed from campus. Over the past few months, teachers at the school have taken the opportunity to help students understand the controversy surrounding the figure known as Johnny Rebel, where it came from, what he stands for in comparison to their thoughts and feelings in 2017.

According to one teacher, students voted on the issue, 56-percent of the students voted to make changes to the mascot.

"I think that Rebels isn't the problem, but the Johnny Rebel is the problem," one student told CBS2.

After hearing from about two dozen students and alumni during a special board meeting held on the campus, district trustees opted to follow the wishes of the student body and re-brand the mascot to eliminate references to a Civil War-era soldier, The Orange County Register reported.

The issue was posed to the students in October in what the Anaheim Union High School District Board of Trustees considered a "teachable moment" for students and resulted in Monday's special meeting in which the decision was made to re-brand.

Exactly what re-branding will entail has not been specified, but a district estimate puts the cost of changes at $51,000, according to The Register.

More than 130 people gathered for the meeting.

Jeanne Tenno, a member of the first graduating class in 1963, spoke through tears as she explained the slogan "Rebel Pride" was about cleaning up the campus, being kind to fellow students and having an award-winning marching band, The Register reported.

"We did not celebrate the South," Tenno said. "We celebrated our sports victories and stood together in defeat."

Others who attended, including students and residents, asked the board to change the mascot as they believed the imagery could be perceived as being linked to the Confederacy, which they considered offensive.

Students researched and discussed the issue in classes before holding a campus vote in which 56 percent supported making changes to the mascot rather than leaving it in place or removing it entirely, according to The Register.

At Monday's meeting, people spoke in favor of all three options, but most of those who addressed the school board said the mascot should be altered or replaced, the newspaper reported.

Bianca Garcia, a 2009 Savanna graduate, said Johnny Rebel is a symbol of support for the Confederacy, according to the newspaper.

"No one should glorify a man who agrees with slavery or doesn't stand against it," Garcia said.

Savanna's mascot debate comes amid conversations around the nation about monuments commemorating people and events tied to the Civil War and whether they are honoring history or perpetuating a legacy of discrimination.

What do you think of the decision? Patch wants to know.

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