Students Vote on New High School’s Name
Southfield’s new high school name, mascot and colors will be put to a student vote scheduled for Jan. 7, according to Derrick Lopez, associate superintendent.
The students will have four options for the name and mascot and three options for the colors, all suggested by a panel of students from both Southfield High School and Southfield-Lathrup High School – the two schools that will merge in September.
Lopez said he personally will monitor the counting of the votes and present the top two student choices in each category to the Board of Education at their January 12 meeting, and the Board of Education will get the final say on the new school’s identity.
The graduating Class of 2016 is the only group of students that will not be allowed to partake in the voting, Lopez said. Teachers and administrators also will not be included in the process, he said.
Prior to the vote, both high schools are asked to display the school names, along with the color choices and the mascot choices during the week of January 4-8 so that students can see them.
The four name choices are as follows:
- Southfield Central High School
- Southfield School of Arts and Technology
- United Southfield High School
- Southfield United High School
Some alumni from both high schools who attended a meeting about the name change with Lopez said the name “Southfield Central” sounds too much like Pontiac Central, Walled Lake Central and Central High School in Detroit. But it was the most popular choice among the 42 students on the ambassador panel, getting 34 votes.
Committee member Asia Bates, of Southfield High School, said she would rather the students count the ballots so they could be sure their top two choices were the ones that the board received, but Lopez assured them her he would oversee the vote count with integrity and their top two choices would be forwarded to the Board.
The four mascot choices are:
- The Warriors
- The Bulls
- The Patriots
- The Blue Chargers (Pegasus)
The three color choices are:
- Red, white and blue
- Purple, grey, black and white
- Gold, black and grey.
At present. Southfield High’s mascot is the Blue Jay, and its school colors are blue and grey.
ryon malone • Jan 11, 2016 at 4:23 pm
Wow, I can’t believe they’re really going through with the new changes.
Justin cain • Dec 11, 2015 at 9:49 am
I would pick Southfield Central, Bulls, black grey and gold.
Alanté • Dec 11, 2015 at 12:42 am
Many students throughout both schools feel that it is unnecessary to change the school’s name because it’s already a simple school name; being a high school of Southfield (Southfield High School) and I whole heartedly agree with this idea. Students from either schools don’t mind the school’s name being the same. Also please consider better mascot choices because in my humble opinion, the choices listed on the website are awful.
Thomas Calhoun • Dec 10, 2015 at 5:48 pm
It’s important to note that Southfield Central has the same letters as Southfield Christian High school which could lead to confusion when it comes to abbreviation of the name. Also, I feel a Pegasus, despite being soft is a good way to combine the mascots both schools have come to love, but making it blue and calling it a charger is a bad idea. Make it purple and try to avoid using anything that can lead to divisions
Keiara • Dec 10, 2015 at 4:01 pm
We should just be the Blue Jays and put the red eyes back on the blue jays and incorporate red in our dress code.