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Students to pick new mascot for Random Lake-Northern Ozaukee co-ops after board narrows options
Summary
Administrators from Random Lake and Northern Ozaukee presented five mascot finalists for co-op athletics and recommended student voting; the board raised cultural-sensitivity considerations but did not remove any finalists.
Administrators and co-op leaders told the board they've narrowed dozens of student submissions to five mascot finalists and plan to let middle- and high-school students vote on a single mascot for the co-op teams.
Brandon and Andy described the process: over several weeks, students from both districts (grades 6—12) submitted ideas through a Google form; an administrative team (two superintendents, two principals and athletic directors) selected five finalists based on student interest and suitability. The finalists presented to the board included Bison, a Minotaur-like figure, Rams/War Rams, Patriots and Phoenix.
Board members discussed the submissions and urged sensitivity to cultural concerns. One member asked that, should the War Ram option prevail, the districts adopt a depiction that avoids problematic "warrior" imagery out of respect for community sensitivities. Administrators said they would rework art and language as needed and that the final selection process would also include student artist contributions for logos.
No board members objected to the finalists and the board left the process to the students and administrators. The co-op plans to present the finalists to students for a vote and then to both boards for final approval.
Quote: "We felt the next step was to let the kids choose from both schools," Brandon said of the selection process.
Next steps: Administrators will run the student vote, refine imagery if needed for cultural sensitivity, and return to boards for final endorsement.
