‘Islanders’ is favored for the new school team name

“Islanders” is favored for the new school team name among participants in a Shelter Island School survey, a result supported by a stakeholder group formed to explore options after the Board of Education voted to retire “Indians” after long-standing objections flared again this summer.

Todd Gulluscio — the district’s director of Athletics, Physical Education, Health, Wellness, and Personnel — presented the findings to the school board at its Monday night meeting in the school gym. The board is expected to vote on the recommendation at a future meeting.

It was a fitting location for the talk. Banners bearing the “Indians” logo hang from the rafters and socially-distanced meeting attendees sat on folding chairs atop the controversial image of a Native American in a traditional Plains headdress painted at center court on the gym floor.

While no design has been selected, Gulluscio suggested a simple outline of the Island with a star indicating the location of the school. He said decals with the new logo could be created to cover the image where it appears on banners that herald past accomplishments.

The name “Indians” would not be removed from the banners, he said, in recognition of concerns raised over the summer. But going forward, the new name and logo would appear on future banners, he said.

[Read our past coverage of the community meetings about the “Indians” name in this Gazette post.]

Survey results

Gulluscio reported that an invitation to participate in the survey was issued on October 8. In all, 130 people participated through October 22: 33.6 percent (about 44 people) identified themselves as parents; 18.4 percent (about 24 people) as teachers/staff; 17.6 percent (about 23 people) as community members; 16.8 percent (about 22 people) as students; and 13.1 percent (about 17 people) as alumni.

Apparently, numerous respondents suggested the name “Indians”, so Gulluscio broke the findings out for the board in two ways: including and excluding the retired name.

In the overall survey, 16 percent of participants suggested “Indians” as a new name. Of the majority of respondents who selected something other than “Indians”, 46.7 percent selected “Islanders”, 16.2 percent selected “Ospreys”, and 14.3 percent selected “Fish Hawks”. Other names, each accounting for less than 5 percent of the total, were Hareleggers, Manhansetts, Rames, Seahawks, Sharks and Rams.

Sorted by respondent group

The survey results are shown in the order that Gulluscio presented them:

Alumni

Among alumni, 52.9 percent suggested the retired name. Of those alumni who selected something else (see chart above), 50 percent selected Islanders, 25 percent selected Fish Hawks, with Manhansetts and Rams each garnering 12.5 percent of the total.

Community Members

Among community respondents, 52.9 percent suggested the retired name. Of those who selected something else (see chart above), 25 percent selected Islanders; Hareleggers and Ospreys each garnered 15 percent support; and Fish Hawks, Manhansetts and Warriors accounted for 10 percent each. Other names, each with less than 5 percent of the community response, were Rams, Raptors and Seahawks.

Parents

Among parents (about 43 respondents), 52.4 percent suggested the retired name. Of the parent respondents who selected something else (see chart above), results were Islanders, 57.9 percent (about 11 people); Ospreys, 10.5 percent; Fish Hawks, 10.5 percent, and Seahawks 7.9 percent. Other names, each accounting for less than 3 percent of the parent response, were Eagles, Farretts, Rams, Rip Tides, and Sachems.

Students

Among students, 19 percent suggested the retired name. Of the majority of student respondents who selected something else (see chart above), 29.4 percent selected Islanders and 29.4 selected Ospreys, with Fish Hawks accounting for 23.5 percent of responses. Other names, each accounting for less than 6 percent of the student response, were Bucks, Nothing, and Seagulls.

Teachers/Staff

Among teacher/staff respondents, 4.3 percent suggested the retired name. Of the majority of teacher/staff respondents who selected something else (see chart above), 59.1 percent selected Islanders and 22.7 selected Ospreys, with Fish Hawks accounting for 13.6 percent of responses. Sharks accounted for 4.5 percent.

Recommendations

A group of stakeholders met on October 29 to preview Gulluscio’s presentation of the findings and discuss the data, he told the board. The group included representatives from all the sectors surveyed, and people who’d spoken against changing the name took part. The group made these unanimous recommendations:

“Adopt the name ‘Islanders’ as was most favored according to the data, the logo for which should be our Island, which is unique to us,” Gulluscio said.