Description
Jack C. Hays High School is public school located in Buda, Texas. The school is named for John Coffee Hays, a frontier defender, Texas Ranger and hero to those he fought to protect. He achieved fame after leaving Texas in 1849 for California, where he became the first elected sheriff of San Francisco and helped found the city of Oakland. Hays High School was formed by the consolidation of Buda, Kyle and Wimberley high schools in 1968. In 1986, the Wimberley community was released from the Hays Consolidated School District and reformed Wimberley High School. A further split occurred with the opening of Lehman High School in neighboring Kyle in the fall of 2004.
The school mascot is a Yosemite Sam-like character dressed in the standard gray uniform of the Army of the Confederate States of America known as "Colonel Jack". While "Colonel Jack" formerly wielded dual revolvers and a confederate flag belt buckle, he is currently shown with a Texas flag in his left hand and a white flag bearing an H in his right with a script R on his belt buckle. As with other institutions which draw upon confederate imagery, Hays High School encountered controversy on and off for years before ultimately discarding the confederate flag as an official symbol in 2000 and banning it from official functions entirely in 2012,[5] followed by retiring Dixie as a fight song in 2015 and replacing it with the school's original fight song, On, Wisconsin!
"Hays CISD sent 2,325 survey invitations to students who will be in the ninth through 12th grades during the 2020-2021 school year, asking them to gauge their comfort level with the mascot. There were 1,152 responses.
Of those, nearly 60% showed little to no comfort with the current mascot. About one in four students who responded said they were "very uncomfortable" with it." - Britny Eubank, Pattrik Perez KVUE July 16, 2020
"The district also sent 265 survey invitations to Hays High School teachers and staff, asking them the same question as the students. There were 146 responses.
Of those, more than 70% of teachers and staff members showed little to no comfort with the mascot. Nearly a third of those who responded said they were very uncomfortable with it. " - Britny Eubank, Pattrik Perez KVUE July 16, 2020
Hays High School stopped using the confederate flag as an official signal in 2000 and, in 2012, Hays CISD banned the flag's display on any district property. In 2015, the district removed "Dixie" as the Hays High School fight song.
Statement Regarding Hays HS Rebel Mascot - June 23, 2020
Hays CISD and Hays High School have made great strides by banning the confederate flag and eliminating Dixie as the fight song at Hays High School, but we also know the conversation continues regarding the rebel mascot. We are listening.
The district and campus have both received inquiries regarding the mascot in recent weeks. Additionally, there is a tremendous amount of dialog on social media and a student-led petition is underway to request a mascot change.
Because of the high interest in this topic, including from students, and to ensure that all Hays High School students have a chance to participate in the conversation, the district will conduct a survey of Hays High School students to gauge their sentiment. This survey will be for students who will be 9th through 12th graders in the 2020-2021 school year. The district anticipates the survey could open as early as next week, the week of June 29, 2020. Information will be communicated to students through their Hays CISD student Gmail accounts. The district will also ask Hays High School teachers and staff members their sentiment regarding the mascot. Staff surveys will open at the same time as student surveys and will be communicated through internal staff Gmail accounts. Students and staff at the campus are the individuals who have to live with the campus mascot every day. Their voices must weigh heavily in the discussion surrounding the rebel mascot.
The district committed in 2015 when it removed Dixie as the campus fight song, that consideration of making a mascot change would need to originate from the students. That has occurred. The criticism in 2015, was that the district administration unilaterally made the decision to change the fight song without first asking the students their opinions. That will not happen regarding the mascot.
The results of the student survey, copies of any petitions that may be submitted, the results of a Hays High School staff survey, and any other pertinent information will all be considered in creating an administrative recommendation to the Board of Trustees. The responsibility of the decision whether to change the mascot will not rest entirely on the students. Ultimately, and according to policy, any change to an established secondary school mascot in Hays CISD must be approved by the Board of Trustees. Depending on incoming feedback, the district intends to have a recommendation regarding the Hays High School mascot before the Board of Trustees for consideration this summer.