With 143 votes, residents of RSU #12 have chosen a wolverine to replace the controversial moniker “redskin” as Wiscasset High School’s new mascot. The voting, which concluded April 7, was conducted entirely online and received 344 total responses according to WHS educator Deb Pooler.
“The votes were counted legally,” said Pooler. “If someone voted incorrectly or twice, that vote was thrown out.”
In addition to wolverine, voters had the choice of “red hawks” or the “rebels.” Overall, “red hawks” received 118 votes and the “rebels” received 83. The wolverine will end 60 plus years of the “Redskin” mascot after the RSU #12 Board voted to “immediately” and “permanently” remove the moniker in January.
In March, the Board voted to allow the high school to continue use of the image until June. The surrounding controversy had dominated recent school board meetings and attracted statewide attention.
“I felt so encouraged that the entire community was involved in the process,” said Pooler. “This was a tough course to navigate.”
Pooler said an April 11 faculty meeting would determine a timeline on the implementation of the wolverine mascot. According to a directive from the RSU #12 board, the high school is to present its decision at a May meeting with a charge to have the new mascot in place for the upcoming school year. A contest is in the works to have a Wiscasset student design a “wolverine” logo and the 2011 homecoming weekend will revolve around the new mascot, Pooler said.
According to “Mammal Species of the World,” a reference book published by Johns Hopkins Press, the wolverine is the largest land-dwelling species of the weasel family. The animal is primarily found in remote reaches of the Northern boreal forests with the greatest number domestically in Alaska.
The wolverine is also a popular mascot in the United States with the most famous example being that of the University of Michigan. In addition, Michigan is known as the “Wolverine State” though the animal is actually quite rare in the state.
In popular culture, “Wolverine” is a superhero from the Marvel Comic’s franchise. According to greenpeace.org, the Northern Maine woods could potentially support a wolverine habitat and unconfirmed sightings have been noted.
An employee from the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said she did not think a wolverine had ever been sighted in Maine but could not confirm either way.
