Mar 10, 2021
The San Diego Unified School Board has voted unanimously to change the name of Junipero Serra High School to Canyon Hills High School.
The decision follows a petition campaign for a name change. They said the school being named after Father Junipero Serra, the founder of California’s mission system including the first one in 1769, the
San Diego Mission, is offensive to indigenous peoples whose ancestors were subjected to its doctrine. The San Diego Unified School Board also voted to change the high school’s mascot from a conquistador to a rattlesnake, or a “Rattler.”
According to the
San Diego Union Tribune, the students who launched the campaign to change the name of the school and to create a new mascot said it’s offensive and racist to have a conquistador as a mascot because it represents the Spanish colonization of the Americas, during which Spanish conquerors carried out a genocide of indigenous peoples, killing millions by disease and by force.
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San Diego Unified’s Junipero Serra High School will now be called Canyon Hills High School after students successfully petitioned for the name change, saying that the name of the founder of California’s mission system is offensive to indigenous peoples whose ancestors were subjected to its doctrine.
On Tuesday night, the San Diego Unified School Board unanimously voted for the name change and to change the school’s mascot from a conquistador to a rattlesnake, or a “Rattler.”
For the record:
12:04 AM, Mar. 10, 2021This article was corrected to reflect that Tierrasanta is referred to as “The Island in the Hills.”
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