Sanford High School Spartans will take to the fields this fall after the community retired the Redskins mascot and moves on to a new chapter in school athletics.

Students chose the new mascot, which features a war helmet, from a field of four options recently. The Spartans garnered 587 of the 1,325 votes, including those of students in grades 7-12 at Sanford High School and Sanford Junior High School, along with Acton Elementary School’s eighth-graders, who will be freshmen at Sanford High School in September.

We’re pleased to see the schools and students moving on after this contentious issue came to a head this school year.

The Maine Indian Tribal State Commission had urged the school department to retire the Redskins mascot for years, citing the offensiveness of the word as the main reason it should not be used. Members said “redskins” originated as a term for the bloody scalps of indigenous people taken for bounty in the mid-1700s. Commission members also said when mascots dress in Indian headdresses and costumes, it is disrespectful to Indian culture and the native people who have worked for decades to earn their regalia. Sanford’s mascot has not done that for some time, but it has been a practice at some sports games with Indian mascots.

With the Spartans now in place, students and community members can rally around the new mascot and take pride in their sports teams to the fullest extent.

And although the name is new to current students, the Spartans has roots in Sanford’s high school sports scene. St. Ignatius High School teams were first called the Saints, but later became the Spartans, according to Dick Bergeron, a 1954 graduate of the Catholic high school, which closed in 1969. Historian and school teacher Paul Auger said the change to Spartans at St. Ignatius came in either 1955 or 1956.

The name continues the tradition that many who wanted to retain the former mascot spoke of: Strength, honor and tradition. Although it comes in a new form, “the Spartans” is a symbol of strength, honor, and indeed, tradition in Sanford.

Superintendent of Schools David Theoharides pointed out the change could not have come at a better time, and added that the mascot will help usher in a new era at the school, with a new building and technical center on the way.

“The naming of our new mascot comes the day after our Sanford High School boys track and field team won the state championship,” said Theoharides. “Sanford is making a name for itself around the state and New England as we begin construction of a new high school and technical center that will embrace new methods of teaching and learning that will help prepare our young people and our community to thrive in a 21st century global society. The new mascot becomes part of this new era for Sanford as we move toward a new vision for our school and community.”

As students make the change to becoming the Sanford Spartans, we hope their parents and other residents will show support for the new mascot and help the town’s young people embrace this new identity as they move forward.

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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham representing the majority opinion of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.