Fort Smith Four
Covering Local News and Local Issues
‘Mavericks’ Selected to Replace the ‘Rebels’
Averie Warren
October 14. 2015
On Monday (October 12), the Southside mascot selection committee chose the “Mavericks” to represent Southside High School. It took the Southside mascot selection committee less than one hour to vote, 25 voted for Mavericks and 3 voted for Patriots. One member was not present. Current Southside students picked Mavericks and Spartans as their top two contenders.
Southside High School Assistant Principal Travis Biggs stated, “We’re going to get bashed no matter what we decide.”
This decision to change the mascot comes after months of deliberation among the committee and community over whether the “Rebels” was an appropriate mascot to represent Southside and the Fort Smith community.
Back in June, the Fort Smith School Board unanimously passed a motion to ban the “Dixie” fight song at Southside and the Johnny Reb mascot. This was a result of national controversy surrounding the mass shooting at Charleston, South Carolina and the flying of the Confederate flag at the state capitol. Attention was drawn to the fight song and mascot at Southside- these symbols were accused of having racist origins and connotations. Shortly after the motion passed, Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen filed a lawsuit claiming the school board violated the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act by holding a committee vote without notifying the public. The lawsuit stated that school board officials lead the public to believe that the June 23 meeting was closed and would only be used to evaluate the superintendent, not to change the song and mascot.
On July 27, the school board voted to ban the fight song for the upcoming school year (2015-2016) and the mascot for the next school year (2016-2017). The vote was unanimous and the “Dixie” fight song was banned for the upcoming school year. Three days later, “Wabash Cannonball” was selected to be the new Southside fight song.
In September, a mascot selection committee was formed. This committee included alumni, faculty, current students, and parents. Southside High School students had until September 18 to submit ideas for the potential new mascot.
There are mixed responses to Southside’s latest mascot, the Mavericks. A lot of alumni, like Emilee Cole, are saddened and even outraged by the change.
“As a former Southside volleyball and soccer player, it truly saddens me that we will not be called the Lady Rebs anymore. It feels like a completely different high school. I had ambitions to send my future children to Southside and see them grow and learn as a Southside Rebel.”
However, others, like Melissa Woodall, understand the reason for the change.
"If you're from here, we know that most of us don't hold hate in our hearts, and we do not mean anything negative by the Southside symbols, but not everybody, everywhere understands that part of our community," Woodall said. "A different mascot would better represent our community."