The editorial board at Neshaminy High School’s newspaper voted to not use “Redskins,” name of the school’s sports teams, in its athletic coverage from now on. The Langhorne, Pa., school has gone by the nickname for nearly 100 years.
The board voted 14 to 7 to refrain from using the name moving forward, but penned two editorials arguing for and against the nickname in its latest issue of The Playwickian, which is named after an American-Indian word for the area. The board members who support the name argued that it “portrays a ‘redskin’ in a positive light” and that “if the intent is not used in a harmful context, then dispute should not occur”; its opponents described the “R-word” as “a term of hate” and a “racial slur.”
The board’s decision does not affect the team’s name, as Neshaminy High School will still use the “Redskins” name in its athletics. The newspaper’s faculty adviser told Philly.com that the board previously banned the word in 2001.