Letting go of something you’ve cared about for such a long time is hard. Especially when it comes to school spirit. But sometimes it needs to be done. Just like changing our school mascot. Having an Aztec as our mascot is not honoring them, it contributes to negative stereotypes. Stereotypes like the “Aztec warriors were savages and dangerous.” Having the Aztec culture be our mascot is cultural appropriation, which is highly insensitive. Aztecs are not extinct, they are incredibly marginalized and discriminated against. Mark Keppel uses them as a mascot while preaching “equality!” But they don’t give us any resources that teach us about the Aztec culture. We need to teach others about marginalized groups around the world. But wanting to keep our mascot the same because it’s “tradition”, does more harm than good. Anyone with an ounce of respect for the Aztec culture should support this petition. And I hope while you’re on here you sign petitions fighting for Black Lives Matter. Take a stand and use your voice to empower others.