Teacher, Former Student Testify In Neshaminy ‘Redskins’ Case

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) hearing on the Neshaminy School District’s “Redskins” name and imagery will continue through the rest of the week.

On Tuesday morning at the at the Bucks County Community College campus in Newtown Township, day two of the hearing began with Drexel University Professor Ellen Staurowsky, an expert for the PHRC, testifying that she has reviewed data and information that showed the sports team names can be offensive and can cause negative circumstances. However, she did not specifically investigate the Neshaminy issue and was testifying generally.

In the afternoon, Neshaminy High School teacher Tara Huber, who used to oversee the school newspaper when the student editors banned use of the Redskins name, testified that she personally knows the term to be offensive.

“People think that it’s a term of honor and it clearly is not,” she said.

Huber and former student newspaper editor Gillian McGoldrick, now the editor of Temple University’s student newspaper, testified about what happened when the student editors received pushback after deciding not to publish the word redskins in their publication.

The school administration and district was not supportive of the students’ effort, which was approved by an editorial team majority vote, to not use the Redskins name, Huber testified.

McGoldrick relayed the events surrounding the implementation of the restrictive Policy 600 that barred the editors of The Playwickian student newspaper from editing the word redskin in letters to the editor and advertisements. The policy did not force student journalists to publish the word in news articles and also mandated a 10-day review period by administration.

McGoldrick said at the hearing that the policy stifled any timeliness to the publication and violated the First Amendment.

During her testimony, McGoldrick said she was 16 years old and reading awful messages about her on social media, many times posted by the parents of peers. She added that she did not feel like going to school at times and her attendance suffered due to her stance of the term.

Huber mentioned during her testimony that the controversy over the name was an issue in 2001 and raised by the student newspaper before blowing up in 2013 when it gained national attention.

The longtime teacher also said that current Superintendent Joseph Jones suggested at a diversity training that she look for another job elsewhere after she mentioned the Redskins name was considered offensive to some.

Additional former student editors are expected to testify Wednesday and Thursday. Neshaminy parent Donna Boyle, who is part Cherokee and Choctaw and has raised concern over the name for years, is expected to testify later in the week. The school district also plans to have staff and stakeholders testify in favor of the name.

Stephen Pirritano, a Neshaminy School Board member whose late son had spoken out in favor of the name, was interviewed on conservative radio host Dom Giordano’s show on Tuesday. He defended the Redskins name and said he thought it was intended to honor indigenous people.

While he noted he would consider changing the name if the community made it known, he raised concerns that PHRC is taking on the district as the “plaintiff, the prosecutor, the judge, and the jury.” He said it was “government overreach.”

Editor’s Note: Gillian McGoldrick reported on a story for LevittownNow.com in 2016, but she is not currently employed by this news organization. 

Related:

• ‘Redskins’ Use Hearing Underway
• Neshaminy ‘Redskins’ Name Will Be Subject Of Human Relations Commission Hearing
• Editors & Public Recap The Playwickian ‘Redskins’ Scandal
• Playwickian Editors To Speak At Constitution Event
• Neshaminy Votes to Approve Controversial Publication Policy
• Could Neshaminy be Sued Over Newspaper Controversy?
• School Newspaper’s Social Media Accounts Taken Down
• Neshaminy High School Admin Accused of Pulling ‘Playwickian’ Copies
• Neshaminy Committee Tables Controversial Newspaper Policy
• Controversial Neshaminy Policy Going Back to Committee
• Neshaminy Board Hears Public Comment on Revised Policy
• Neshaminy Board Moves ‘Redskin’ Policy Vote on Heels of Letter from Lawyer Representing Students
• Neshaminy Lawyer: Editors Can’t Stop Students from Using Redskin Name
• Neshaminy Mulls Blocking Student Paper Ban on ‘Redskins’ Name