Groups split on ‘Wildcats’
as board takes up question
Staff writer
Final data from a straw poll on dropping “Wildcats” as Marion Middle School’s nickname reveals continued sharp splits among groups surveyed.
Whether to change the nickname for all district schools to “Warriors” will be discussed at an open, public meeting of the school board at 7 p.m. Monday at the district offices, 101 N. Thorp St., Marion.
In the straw poll, raw data from which was obtained by the Record last week, 52 school employees overwhelmingly supported the change, with 73.1% favoring it and 11.5% opposing it.
Among 158 parents surveyed, similar sentiment was found, with 69.0% favoring the change and 22.2% opposing it.
Students, however, were not sure. Of 132 students surveyed, 47.0% said they favored the name change while 31.8% said they opposed it.
Community members, only 89 of whom were surveyed, expressed strong opposition, with just 22.5% favoring the proposal and 74.2% opposing it.
Overall, 11.1% of all 431 surveyed in the non-scientific poll said they were neutral, while 1.2% said they did not know that the middle and high schools had different nicknames.
In each group, final numbers show slightly less support for the name change than was expressed in preliminary numbers obtained Dec. 20 under the Kansas Open Records Act.
The “Wildcat” name memorializes the nickname of Florence schools before the Marion and Florence districts were forced to merge more than 50 years ago.
Before the merger, students of middle school age in Marion used the nickname “Braves” for their sports teams.
Although “Wildcats” always was used for Florence teams, “Warriors” was not the original nickname of Marion teams.
When school sports rose to prominence 100 years ago, Marion teams were known by the nickname “Terrible Tribe.”
Members of the “Tribe” were known individually as “Warriors,” and the nickname gradually changed.
Proponents of eliminating “Wildcats” say it would increase district unity and save parents money by not having to buy separate T-shirts and other booster items for different schools.
Opponents say the Florence community was promised during merger that the “Wildcats” legacy would be retained and suggest that using the district name instead of team nicknames on sports apparel would eliminate any financial concerns.