Kirkland Students Vote To Keep Controversial Mascot

KIRKLAND, WA - A student-backed effort to change the mascot at Kirkland's Juanita High School failed to pass in an election held at the school Monday. Only 347 voted to replace the Rebels mascot - but 685 votes were needed to pass.

Juanita High School, founded in 1971, chose the rebel mascot as a nod to the American Revolution, according to the school district. But the soldiers in that war were referred to as patriots, not rebels. The name is more closely associated with Confederate soldiers who fought to keep slavery during the Civil War.

The Confederate flag does not appear in the school's current logo, but students have in the past been photographed painting it on their faces at sporting events. There was also a notorious 1997 incident where Juanita students yelled racial slurs at students from Seattle's Garfield High School, which has a predominantly minority student population.

Juanita student Aiyah Smart, 15, talked to KUOW about why she was hurt about how the vote turned out.

The name change was upsetting for Juanita alumni. Over at the Juanita High School Rebels Alumni Facebook page, graduates cheered the failed measure.

"Now that the vote has finally thrown out this change, I implore local Rebs to inundate the board with requests to change their policy on this. It should be the community’s decision, the tax payer’s decision, not 300+ teenagers who do not have a concept of fiscal responsibility," wrote member Alana Wideman.

Juanita students circulated a petition to change the mascot earlier this year. The students were able to gather the signatures of more than 10 percent of the student body, triggering the recent vote. The vote was originally scheduled for Friday, but was held over to Monday for absent students.

"We will remain the Rebels. As we move forward next year, we will continue to work on what it really means to be a Rebel and be a part of the Rebel Family," Juanita Principal Kelly Clapp said in a statement about the vote.

Image courtesy Lake Washington School District