I graduated from a high school whose mascot was a "Southern Rebel" hence the name South Spencer Rebels.
The mascots colors were red, white and blue. The rebel also waved a confederate flag. Well, as you can guess, some minorities were offended by this. My dad still works for the school corp and I remember him telling me, a few years ago, that due to political issues, the corp had to remove the confederate flag completely. I also think the rebel man was to be retired as well. They still retain the name "Rebels", but without the history of the mascot. Get over yourselves, people. It's just a sign/flag/name/etc. What about the people that move to Santa Claus, IN? If they don't still believe in Santa Claus, why don't they sue the town to change its name? "It sends a false message to our children that Santa Claus really exists." M!ke -----Original Message----- From: Dana [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2005 1:37 PM To: CF-Community Subject: a twist on the separation of church and state Just curious as to what people think of this. The city of Las Cruces is named for three crosses that used to stand on a hill along the Camino Real in territorial times. Its logo has, you guessed it, three crosses in it. Dana http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/32902.html Lawsuit seeks removal of crosses from Las Cruces city logo (63 comments; last comment posted October 6, 2005 03:48 am) print<http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/32902.html#>| email<?subject=%20%20sent%20you%20this%20article%20from%20The%20New%20Me xican&body=Lawsuit%20seeks%20removal%20of%20crosses%20from%20Las%20Cruce s%20city%20logo%0Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.freenewmexican.com%2Fnews%2F32902.htm l%0D%0D>this story By ASSOCIATED PRESS September 24, 2005 LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - The city of Las Cruces' official emblem has three crosses that a federal lawsuit alleges are unconstitutional religious symbols on public property. The lawsuit, filed Sept. 16 in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, seeks the removal of the crosses. "The crosses serve no governmental purpose other than to disenfranchise and discredit non-Christian citizens," said the lawsuit filed by Paul F. Weinbaum, who lives in the Las Cruces area, and Martin J. Boyd of Las Cruces. Defendants include city officials, city councilors, Mayor Bill Mattiace, District Attorney Susana Martinez, state Attorney General Patricia Madrid and Gov. Bill Richardson. "We have had to defend ourselves before and we're ready to do it again," Mattiace said. "The crosses have a basis for being in our logo. We will hold course and will defend that," he said. Las Cruces is Spanish for "The Crosses." Fermin Rubio, city attorney, said the lawsuit did not raise any new issues since attempts were made in 2003 to prevent the city from using the logo. The state Highway and Transportation Department, now the Department of Transportation, had announced that the logos would be removed from two state highway underpasses. But Richardson ordered the agency not to remove the logo from state roads, saying it represents a historical event and is a point of pride for Las Cruces residents. Jon Goldstein, a spokesman for Richardson, said Tuesday the governor's office had received a copy of the lawsuit, but he declined comment until staff members and attorneys for the governor reviewed it. The lawsuit alleges the emblem violates the First Amendment by placing religious symbols on public property and spending public money to promote religion. The lawsuit also accuses the city of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by requiring prospective employees to sign job applications that include a religious symbol. Weinbaum and Boyd accuse the city of invading the privacy of their homes with government-sponsored proselytizing. Weinbaum and Boyd said they have been made to feel excluded from public participation in government activities. "This symbol serves no governmental purpose other than to be divisive, to alienate, and disenfranchise Weinbaum, his minor daughter and Boyd," the lawsuit says. Weinbaum said he just wants the city to quit using the logo. "The point here is that this is not for profit whatsoever," he said of the lawsuit. "We want our First Amendment rights back, our full rights as citizens." The City Council never has voted on adopting the symbol for official use, the lawsuit says. City officials cannot provide any historical documentation to back its claim that the crosses represent the history and people of the city, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Lourdes Martinez of Las Cruces. 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