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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2017
Eugene school mulls gender-neutral mascot
Home to the
Axemen
Associated Press
EUGENE — A Eugene
school is considering doing
away with its mascot after it
was presented with a petition
asking the school to change it
to something gender neutral.
South Eugene High School
has been the home of the Axe-
men for almost 90 years, the
Register-Guard reported.
In an email sent Tuesday
to families and community
members, Principal Andy Dey
said there has been an ongoing
community discussion about
changing the school’s team
name which resulted in a peti-
tion that garnered hundreds of
signatures from students, par-
ents, teachers, coaches and
community members.
While the petitioners are
passionate about the change,
Dey said others have ada-
mantly disagreed with the
idea.
Dey plans to hold several
meetings to discuss the matter
with school and district lead-
ership after students return to
‘We find the request for a
change to be compelling,
and one that shall receive
full attention from the
school’s leadership.’
Principal Andy Dey
school from winter break Jan.
3.
“We find the request for
a change to be compelling,
and one that shall receive full
attention from the school’s
leadership,” he wrote. “The
superintendent has expressed
support for moving forward
in conversation with the fac-
ulty, student groups and the
school’s Site Council.”
Eugene School Board
members also welcome the
discussion.
The mascot’s origin can
be traced back to a 20th cen-
tury club at the high school
known for their annual group
photo which featured mem-
bers holding an axe, Dey said
in the email. The members
became known as “the men of
the axe” and later shortened to
“axemen.”
Dey acknowledges that
sports and the country have
changed since the school’s
team named was adopted in
the early 1930s. Today, girls
and women are allowed to
play on sports teams and lan-
guage and terminology used in
the U.S. has also changed.
“Use of nongendered ter-
minology (chairperson, fire-
fighter, police officer, etc.) is
now standard, while the use
of male-specific pronouns to
refer generically to all peo-
ple is no longer a universally
accepted social norm,” Dey
said.
He expects to send a rec-
ommendation to Eugene
School District Superinten-
dent Gustavo Balderas by the
end of January.
Senators question Forest Service role in sage grouse review
By GEORGE PLAVEN
EO Media Group
Thirteen Democratic sen-
ators, including Oregon U.S.
Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff
Merkley, are questioning what
role the U.S. Forest Service
played in the Trump admin-
istration’s recent decision to
review protections for the
greater sage grouse.
In a letter sent Dec. 20 to
Forest Service Chief Tony
Tooke, the senators pose a
list of 10 questions stemming
from federal orders to review
the 2015 sage grouse plans,
which sought to keep the pecu-
liar bird off the Endangered
Species List.
Those plans, the sena-
tors argue, were the hard-
won results of negotiations
between farmers, ranchers,
sportsmen, conservationists
and government officials to
preserve sage grouse habitat
while balancing rural econo-
mies. In June, however, Secre-
tary of the Interior Ryan Zinke
issued an order to re-examine
the plans to see if any provi-
sions might hinder job cre-
ation and energy development.
Since then, the Forest Ser-
vice has also announced its
intent to prepare an environmen-
tal impact statement for multiple
national forests and grasslands
in Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
Utah, Wyoming and Colorado,
which the agency says may war-
rant changes in land manage-
ment for the sage grouse.
The notice includes:
• Idaho and southwest
Montana (Beaverhead-Deer-
lodge, Boise, Caribou-Tar-
ghee, Salmon-Challis and
Sawtooth national forests, and
Curlew National Grassland).
• Nevada (Humboldt-Toiy-
abe National Forest).
• Utah (Ashley, Dixie, Fish-
lake, Manti-La Sal and Uin-
ta-Wasatch-Cache
national
forests).
• Wyoming and Colorado
(Bridger-Teton and Medicine
Bow-Routt national forests,
and Thunder Basin National
Grassland).
The deadline for public
comment is Jan. 5, though the
senators are asking the Forest
Service to extend that period
by at least 45 days to account
for the acreage and stakehold-
ers involved.
Sage grouse are found in 11
Western states, and are known
for their elaborate courtship
and mating rituals. The pop-
ulation was once estimated
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