Students may have only been out of the school building since March, but they can be forgiven for not recognizing a few of their usual landmarks.
Entering the 2020-2021 school year, students have noticed the absence of the traditional Warrior head logo from the gymnasium wall and stadium scoreboard, as well as the Warrior mascot on the sidelines every Friday night. When the Penn-Joint Indians and Trafford Tomahawks merged in 1972, the school district decided to keep the Native Indian themed mascot to honor the history of the local Bushy Run Battlefield.
This year, however, the signage is being updated around the school. Assistant Principal Amy Horvat stated that “ever since Kerry Hetrick became the athletic director, he has wanted a logo with the initials “PT” in it to represent the uniformity of both Penn and Trafford, as well as an arrow to keep the Warrior theme in the logo.”
Hetrick added that “It’s all about being one, it’s all about using the same logo that has been used on all of the athletic uniforms since 2015.”
The Warrior heads on the stadium scoreboard were covered to match the arrowhead logo in the center of the field. The update was supposed to be completed with the turf replacement last year, but did not happen until the summer of 2020. The Warrior head in the gymnasium was painted over as part of a renovation in removing the divider from the gym.
As for the mascot, Horvat suggested that the district and spirit boosters for the cheerleading team could discuss with the Bushy Run Museum how to update the costume and depict the Warrior in a more authentic way. Hetrick also proposed “having a guy and girl student dress in a Warrior costume that honors our history accurately, and is not as cartoonish as the previous one.”
The Warrior head is still a trademark for the district, and will remain on the press box, in the auxiliary gym, as well as other commemorative sights throughout the school district.
“We are still the Warriors, nobody has changed that. The Warrior head is what was used for previous generations, the arrow logo is what will define our era,” Hetrick said.
In light of the focus on racial discrimination in the recent months, there has been discussion about whether or not the Warrior head was updated for social concerns. Hetrick stated, “It didn’t even cross [his] mind that the logo should be changed because it could be viewed as offensive.” He said that he believes in promoting what it means to be a Warrior.
“There is a group of Alumni who have reached out who would like the Warrior head removed,” Horvat said. She stated that when the district decided on the Warrior logo almost 50 years ago, they were honoring the history of the location and honoring the Native Indians that fought; they never intended to offend anyone.
“As long as we know what we represent, that’s all that matters at the end of the day,” Hetrick stated.
Staff Editor, Carleigh Bruno