Wichita North High students voted on four potential new mascots. Here are the options

Wichita North High School students voted Thursday on four potential new mascot names to replace the Redskins moniker.

Students were asked to pick between four names: Wolfpack, Red Hawks, North Stars and Red Storm.

USD 259 spokesperson Susan Arensman said the voting happened Thursday morning but would not share results.

“This is just one step in a process,” Arensman said.

“Earlier, the school had asked for input about potential mascot names, and the ones that they voted on were kind of the top ones that were recommended.”

Arensman said mascot suggestions were solicited from current students and alumni who provided ideas on the North High Facebook page. Only current students voted on the four options.

The Wichita school board voted unanimously in February 2021 to do away with the Redskins name over a two-year period. A committee created by Wichita Public Schools to study the mascot determined: “the term is offensive to Native Americans and the Native American Culture. The term is racially and culturally insensitive.”

Wichita City Council member Maggie Ballard shared the potential new names in a Thursday Facebook post where she also expressed her frustration with the naming process.

“While I support the change I’m frustrated I haven’t been aware of any community engagements to participate in suggestions,” Ballard wrote.

She said the school’s Native American imagery, which is featured heavily in the building architecture, will not be removed.

“I also learned the architecture is safe due to it being on the national registry,” Ballard wrote.

Arensman said the district will work to get input from alumni and future students before finalizing a mascot recommendation. Per BOE policy, she said, the North High administration has the final say in what the new mascot will be.

“The students voted on them today and then they’re going to find ways that they can get alumni input — also students who are in North High’s feeder pattern to provide input,” she said. “So they’ll take all of that and put that together and make a recommendation of what the new mascot will be.”

Arensman said she could not provide a timeline for that recommendation process. Until then, she said, the district doesn’t want to share the results of the student vote.

“We’ll reveal it when it’s final.”