Raiders Name In Question

Another Scarsdale tradition may soon become history. At the meeting of the Scarsdale School Board on Monday night March 27, Superintendent Drew Patrick made a sobering announcement. The New York State Board of Regents is expected to approve a ban on the use of indigenous names, logos, imagery or mascots at public schools.

Under the new regulations, the Board of Education would be required to adopt a resolution omitting the use of indigenous names, mascots or logos to be phased out no later than the end of the 2024 school year.

At a recent BOCES meeting, the Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education left no doubt that Scarsdale would need to adapt when he specifically named the words “warriors, raiders and red raiders,” as examples of names that would be prohibited under the new regulations.

Curiously, the dictionary definition of the word “raider” has no mention or connection to indigenous tribes – and reads as follows:

Raider (definition)
-a person or thing that raids.
-a commando, ranger, or the like, specially trained to participate in military raids.
-a light, fast warship, aircraft, etc., used in such a raid.
-a person who seizes control of a company, as by secretly buying stock and gathering proxies.
-Informal. a person who works within an organization for the purpose of gathering evidence of wrongdoing.

But nonetheless, if the move is approved by the Board of Regents, “The Raiders,” would need to be changed.

Patrick said “It would be prudent to contemplate an alternative. While we monitor this, I have reached out to Athletic Director Ray Pappalardi and the leadership of Maroon and White.” He indicated that he would like the process of defining a new name to be an inclusive one with students and alumni. He said that a discussion of the name would be scheduled at an upcoming meeting of the Board of Education.

So make sure to hold on to any Raider's swag in your house - it could soon become a collector's item.

And if you have ideas for an alternative name, enter it in the comments section below: