This NY school dropped its Native American mascot. Check out its new student-designed logo
When it came time to design a logo for the school's new Chargers mascot, Canisteo-Greenwood Superintendent Thomas Crook knew who to ask: an artistic student.
A logo created by senior Riley Bloom was revealed by the district July 14. It features a horse, with a lightning bolt incorporated as part of the horse's mane.
Bloom came up with the design. The district's architect, Hunt Engineers, made minor modifications and formatted the image, according to school officials.
An animation video released by the school shows a charged lightning bolt galloping into the horse's mane.
It's taken nearly no time at all for the new logo to spread. Forever 6ix Apparel features Canisteo-Greenwood Chargers sweatshirts, t-shirts, hoodies and hats with the new charging horse head.
Crook said he approached Bloom, then a junior, after seeing her work in a school-sponsored show.
"I saw some of her digital artwork at this year's Art Show and thought immediately that she would be able to come up with something for us. Riley is extremely talented," Crook said.
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Why Canisteo-Greenwood's athletic teams are now the Chargers
The Canisteo-Greenwood Board of Education voted to drop the district's "Redskins" moniker earlier this year. The New York state Board of Regents ordered school districts to retire their Native American-themed mascots by the end of the academic year and transition to new team names and imagery by June 2025.
Canisteo-Greenwood's switch to the Chargers became official July 1.
The name selection was student-driven. Chargers emerged as the winner after several rounds of voting from ballots that originally included eight contenders. The name, Red Dragons, was also a finalist.
"It was the students that were going to choose C-G's new mascot and there is nothing better than to have them choose the new mascot and have a student design the logo," Crook said.
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When Chargers sports uniforms will debut
Canisteo-Greenwood athletes will not be outfitted in new uniforms during the fall sports season because of supply issues and the challenge of getting brand new duds ordered and delivered in time.
"So in the fall, you will continue to see the Redskins uniform," Crook said. “Once the logo is revealed we are going to order new uniforms for winter and spring (sports). And (by) the following fall, we will have all of the uniforms replaced.”
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This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Canisteo-Greenwood Chargers: Here's the story behind their new logo
