Board discusses Midget mascot

darryl P.
02/10/2010 9:54 PM

Anyone that is in favor of the change is either a transplant to Dickinson or an outsider. Let the community vote and it'll get shot down again. The people born and raised in Dickinson are and will always be MIDGETS!!! GET SOME REAL ISSUES COVERED. New school board i smell.

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Alex S.
02/10/2010 9:45 PM

“The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about” The board is being open minded about this issue, they have in no way said they were advocating for a change and are simply trying to hear both sides of the issue, unlike krieg and those of you who haven't given a second thought to the matter before saying its a terrible idea and taking action against it. Open your minds and consider both sides before coming to a conclusion. Look at this from all viewpoints and show that we as a community can be rational, considerate, and reasonable. Simply saying "its tradition", "its always been like this", or "why change now" hardly provides concrete support for keeping the mascot, it just shows ignorance and narrow mindedness.

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bob v.
02/10/2010 8:18 PM

It is a shame that so much heritage and memories of past graduates is being degraded by the personal interest of an overly wealthy individual for his self supportive goals. Swenson and Rummel need to be ousted for such worthless debates. In the The Dickinson Press they reference the paper by Thune "Thune went on to state in his letter that “legal challenges to mascots have usually been unsuccessful,” and “while some may argue that use of the Midget mascot is offensive and is not good policy, its use does not appear to rise to the level of a constitutional violation.” " Is this statement enough to make your mind up? Don't be spending tax dollars blowing smoke up peoples $%*&, the point of the school board is to be a collective body appointed to better the education in the school system. What does a mascot and name have to do with the education for our student body. If our scores are proficient, then work harder to make them more proficient we are still way behind the intellectual level of other nations (i.e. China). P.S. Keep up the fight my fellow MIDGETS!!!

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V U.
02/10/2010 5:46 PM

I too am a bit shocked that Mr. Rummel would post a comment online. I wouldn't imagine that the school board, specifically him, would find it appropriate if a teacher or coach did the same regarding an article involving themselves or their school. Since Mr Rummel's term is up this year, I hope he uses his remaining time to focus on more important issues that really do affect our children's educations. I have to give kuddos to the very clever fellow posters though. I haven't laughed this much in a long time.

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Robert S.
02/10/2010 5:04 PM

Professional? According to who???????? I don't think it's very professional to post a message board to defend yourself. I think there are better and more "PROFESSIONAL" ways of dealing with this matter. Like I said before, What a CLOWN!!!!!!!!!!

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Casey C.
Bismarck, ND     02/10/2010 4:48 PM

I have read all the posts from this afternoon and in previous days, and many of you have made very valid points; however, what I still cannot get past in all of the most recent posts today is that the school board president would find it necessary to get online and post his comments in this type of forum. If he is that concerned and insecure about what people are saying online about him and his discussions with the board then maybe he should have given some additional thought to bringing the issue up in the first place. Dean, if you feel so inclined to put this back on the table, then you need to be ready for the potential ramifications. As the Mighty Midget himself might say, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." We all look forward to your response.

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Jessi H.
02/10/2010 4:24 PM

Do some people find the term "midget" offensive - yes. Are there names for women or people of color that are offensive - sure. We could go on and on about all the offensive terms these days. Quite honestly who cares. I find the term "little people" ridiculous but apparently that is the term of choice for the time being. So how about DHS changes their mascot to the Mighty Little People? Stop political correctness run amuck. This is silly.

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C J.
Dickinson, ND     02/10/2010 4:21 PM

I say leave it alone...my high school mascot was recently changed and it is just not the same when you talk about having graduated from that school.

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John J.
02/10/2010 4:09 PM

I find this issue trivial and a waste of time. Dickinson is a community of short Bohemians and German Russians thus the mascot is probably appropriate. These types of arguments are getting out of hand. What happens if a Holstein threatens to sue the New Salem school board? Move on to important, educational issues. Maybe Mr. Rummel needs to update is "proactive" project list and start working on a few items from 2005.

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kathy k.
Dickinson, ND     02/10/2010 4:04 PM

Most of the complaining and whinning comes from the students,teachers, adminstrators, or general public that have no sense of pride and tradition in their school nickname. The people have spoken and they will continue to speak because the majority does not want the name change. If the board is really proactive why did it take 7 years to bring the subject forward? also, what did it cost to have Mr. Thune check into this? There are more pressing issues than this again. We are not the only team in the country with the "MIDGET" nickname.

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