The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Board votes down Braves name
Public comments last over two hours
By Kathleen Conat, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: December 14, 2006
In a packed board room that saw people not only filling the seats, but lining the walls, the Ypsilanti School District's Board of Education voted to end the Braves name Monday evening. The 4-3 decision was reached after two and a half hours of input from the public.
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The vote came seven months after a similar vote last May that eliminated the logo of a Native American as the symbol associated with the name. Although several speakers brought up the cost to eradicate that logo from the gym floor as a primary consideration, the costs for the change had already been dealt with in the spring vote.
At that time, the board agreed to approach Native American organizations for funds to remove the images from the gym floor and other locales. If such funding was not forthcoming, the image would remain until it could be removed in the normal course of maintenance.
Other arguments included Ypsilanti athletes taking pride in the name and that ending the name ends many years of tradition.
Tony Comazzi, a past president of the school board, said, "The board is supposed to represent the majority, not small specific groups."
This argument was countered by district parent Eric Touchberry, who said, "Use your power for the least among us. Racism is not determined by the intent, but by the person who is offended."
Early in the evening, members of the Ypsilanti High School Student Council said they had met with Dr. Margaret Noori, a linguistics professor at Eastern Michigan University who is Native American. As a result of this meeting, the students said, they would support whatever decision the board arrived at, but asked for input in deciding on a new name and fight song if "the Braves" was eliminated.
Several students said the board was focusing on the wrong issues at the high school. They cited the need for more seats in the cafeteria, more textbooks and more building assistants to quell fighting, classroom disruptions, students wandering through the halls, skipping school and what were called "petty policies" being arbitrarily made.
Other student speakers said the board should be focusing on poor education, drugs, the lack of security in the school, bad behavior "with no one getting into trouble" and teen pregnancy.
As rebuttal, Sheronda Helton, whose sister attends YHS, said, "We're acting as if changing the name makes a different in the education. It doesn't. This is about tradition? Make sure students have a say in forming a new tradition. Move on."
Several speakers focused on the word "brave" as an attribute to aspire to, not as a word for a Native American. Others acknowledged the connotation of the Braves referring to Native Americans would be retained, even without the logo that had previously been attached to it.
Donna Butnik of the Michigan Department of civil rights said the Michigan constitution mandated the department eliminate discrimination because of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion and gender. Three years ago, the department passed a resolution against school mascots and names that reflect such discrimination. She said the Braves name personifies Naïve Americans.
Butnik went on to list organizations that had passed policies against such nicknames, including, but not limited to, the Michigan Board of Education, the Michigan Education Association, the Michigan High Schools Athletic Association, the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union and others.
After listening to the input, board trustees commented on the issue.
Trustee Tom Reiber said supported the Braves name. "There is something wrong with the policies, not the name, if someone is being harassed," he said. He asked his fellow trustees not to "shove this through because you're making an emotional decision."
Trustee David Bates said, "The tragedy is not the vote, but the amount of disrespect in this room. Being brave is not the same as 'the Braves.' I'm not going to change my mind because of threats and yelling.
"People's lives are not changed by being a Brave. Their lives are changed by the fantastic teachers, support people, administrators, parents and caring personnel of the Ypsilanti School District. I don't represent just the people in this room, but everyone, and I have to be fair."
Trustee Linda Horne cited past leaders in the area of civil rights and wondered aloud what they would have to say about the issue. "I want to bring Native Americans into the Ypsilanti Schools community. If we do that, my work here is not in vain."
Vice President Amy Doyle quoted Touchberry's comments about "protecting the least among us. I feel very strongly about that." She listed many of the positive things happening in the district and said it was sad these were being overshadowed by the Braves issue.
Trustee Cameron Getto said when he thought of "Braves" he though of confronting adversity without fear. "I think of having the courage to do what is right, even when doing what is right might be a scary thing to do."
He said he had struggled with the issue for two years and, during that time, had read a great deal of information on the subject. "Having spent all this time and effort on the issue, one thing has become crystal clear. This is not a debate for which there is any significant controversy.
"Pretty much every scholarly article in every peer-reviewed journal that covers the fields of racial identity, psychology, developmental psychology, and sociology has concluded, on the basis of independent, medical and psychological studies and other generally accepted methodologies of evaluating these issues, that the use of sports names that evoke the racial identities of minorities are harmful to those minorities.
"This is not a hypothesis or theory that requires further study or debate — this is a valid, confirmed conclusion based on hard science and thorough, scholarly investigation."
President Floyd Brumfield said, "Separate but equal does not apply in Ypsilanti. No one is forced to ride in the back of the bus. This isn't urgent. I have problems with putting this ahead of teachers, out-dated technology and uncertain state funds."
Trustee Andrew Fanta said that, because he is Jewish, he understands discrimination and has a sense of the survival of his people. Still, "seven months is not enough. If the connection [between the Braves name and the Native American symbol] is still there in three years or more, then it should be revisited."
Reiber, Fanta and Brumfield voted against eliminating the name. Horne, Getto, Doyle and Bates voted for the elimination.
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