Week-Long Hearing On ‘Redskins’ Name Concludes

After a full five days of testimony, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) hearing on the Neshaminy School District’s use of the “Redskins” name concluded Friday.

The hearing at Bucks County Community College’s Newtown Township campus featured testimony from a number of people, including community members, district staff, and former students.

On Friday morning, former student and Playwickian co-managing editor Jessica McClelland testified that she was not pleased when the majority of the editors at the student newspaper voted to not use the term in content she had created for publication. The disagreement eventually ended up with McClelland leaving the newspaper.

Robert Wood, a Neshaminy High School teacher with Native American heritage, said he does not find the name offensive in the context it is used.

School board member Stephen Pirritano testified that he did not find the Redskins name racist in the way Neshaminy uses it. He further stated that the name was part of the district’s “heritage and culture.”

Pirritano was questioned by PHRC attorneys about Policy 600 that barred the editors of The Playwickian student newspaper from editing the word “redskin.”

The school board member stated that has heard the arguments for and against the use of the word and his opinion remains firm. He added that he supported allowing a diversity of opinions in the student newspaper and did not support discrimination related to the name.

In 2014, Pirritano suggested the possibility of criminal prosecution after students published the student newspaper without authorization from the school administration. On Friday, PHRC attorneys questioned him about his comments, which he said were not threats but general statements.

“[The students] decided to make the financial decision to expend funds that they did not have the purview to spend,” he said, adding he was making the information known.

Neshaminy parent James King, a volunteer who has spent 20 years involved with school activities, testified that he never saw students use the term in a racists way.

“The only thing I associated the Redskins name with is maybe the football team,” he said. 

“I’ve never researched it, looked it up,” King said, adding he wasn’t familiar with the term as a racist term. 

Superintendent Joseph Jones testified many of the issues predated his time in the district.

During his testimony, Dr. Rob McGhee, the former high school principal and a current Neshaminy director of secondary education, said he thinks the district could do a better job educating students about local Native American culture.

McGhee also talked about the efforts he had taken to lessen the use of the name and also scaling back use of imagery that featured indigenous people. Currently, mostly all of the district-sanctioned merchandise and publications either use term “Skins” or a stylized “N” for Neshaminy, McGhee said, adding there are some exceptions for student-created items.

When questioned, McGhee said there was a school publication called the “Redskin Rumblings” years ago, but he changed that name after concerns were raised by Middletown resident and Neshaminy parent Donna Boyle, who is part Cherokee and Choctaw.

McGhee said he personally felt redskins is not a racist term “in the context of the Neshaminy Redskins.” He added that it is still to be determined if it is a racists term. 

McGhee was the last witness to testify after the week of hearings.

Next week, depositions will be collected from former Neshaminy Superintendent Dr. Robert Copeland and a former Playwickian student editor who is out of state.

This week’s hearings stemmed from a 2015 PHRC lawsuit over the Redskins name. The lawsuit followed a complaint which Boyle filed in 2013 but later withdrew.

Once all testimony is gathered and legal briefs are filed by July 1, PHRC hearing examiner Carl Summerson will make a ruling in the case and forward that to the PHRC for a vote. The decision is expected to take several months.

Both sides can appeal the decision to state court.

Related:

• Neshaminy Staff Testifies On Neshaminy ‘Redskins’ Name
• Teacher, Former Student Testify In Neshaminy ‘Redskins’ Case
• ‘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