To collect ideas for a new school mascot, FUHS officials invited students and staff to take a survey Wednesday during second period. If all goes according to plan, a new mascot will be announced by late January or early February 2026.
The California Racial Mascots Act, passed last year, prohibits “derogatory Native American terms” in school mascots, including both “Indian” and “Tribe”.
According to principal Jon Caffrey, the school made attempts to get permission from local Native American tribes to continue using the current Indian mascot, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. Therefore, Caffrey hosted the first public meeting on Oct. 8 to inform the community about the steps the school is taking to comply with the California Racial Mascots Act.
“It’s an opportunity to reflect our shared values and school spirit in a new way, involve our students, alumni and families in choosing a mascot that represents who we are today,” Caffrey said at the meeting.
Fittingly, Caffrey invited students, staff, alumni and parents to submit an application to join a 16-member Community Action Council tasked with giving input for the new mascot selection process. During the Council’s first meeting on Oct. 13, council member and FUHS parent Lindsay Braun was pleased that students were the primary people guiding the process.
“I would say that in our community advisory meeting, [Caffrey] very much is defaulting to what the students want to do. And so I respect that a lot,” Braun said. “It’s very much a student-led effort. And the rest of us teachers and community members are supporting that effort.”
Caffrey first shared a survey regarding the new mascot to the community during the second public meeting on Oct. 21 and then instructed students and staff to take the same survey the following day.
The survey included questions about what values the new mascot should represent, if it’s important that it reflects local history, culture, or geography and what words describe the FUHS school community. It also provided a space for new mascot suggestions. The mascot suggestions will be narrowed down to five semifinalists.
The third meeting will be Dec. 15 when everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to vote among the five mascot semifinalists. Current students and staff will also be able to vote that same week. The two or three mascots with the top votes will get logo art created by professional artists over winter break.
Sometime in January, current students and staff will be able to see the logo art and vote for which one should be the official new mascot. The results will be announced by the end of the month.
Despite the mascot overhaul, the school intends to preserve all art related to the Indian mascot.
Librarian Jean Page has been receiving old relics of the school (including photos, newspaper clippings, past sports uniforms, patches and medals) from alumni since she took her job at the school 11 years ago. Recently, she started putting some of these artifacts on display on the third floor of the library, including boards showing famous alumni like Richard Nixon and Leo Fender.
“I just started it because I was, like, we have all this stuff and it needs to be displayed,” Page said.
This display section of the library will be expanded. Page plans to remove shelves and move books downstairs to accommodate any old mascot memorabilia.
Caffrey said that he’s pleased the school history will have a new home. “People think we’re just going to set everything on fire and get rid of it, but we already have held onto everything,” Caffrey said.
The goal of this process is to select a mascot that complies with the law and that students can still resonate with. “Changing the mascot does not mean we take away the memories and the pride we all share from this amazing school,” Caffrey said.
