By Todd Starnes/TWITTER
A Utah school district decided not to select a cougar as the mascot of a new high school partly because school officials and some parents believed the word is disrespectful to women.
Students in the Canyons School District named the cougar their top choice to become the mascot of the new Corner Canyon High School. The school is expected to open in 2013.
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However, district officials overrode the student vote after complaints that that the word “cougar” is offensive and derogatory towards women.
“We heard from folks who were worried about the connotation of the word ‘cougar’ as it pertains to the current vernacular — in a derogatory manner,” Jennifer Toomer-Cook, a spokesperson for the school district told Fox News & Commentary.
In pop culture, the term “cougar” refers to a sexually aggressive middle-aged woman who attracts younger men.
However, the cougar is also a large mountain cat — that also happens to be the mascot for Brigham Young University — along with three other Utah high schools.
Toomer-Cook said that was the chief reason the district decided to override the students’ vote — even though it was the highest vote-getter out of more than 1,000 suggestions.
Instead, school officials decided to select the “Chargers” as the new mascot. Toomer-Cook said they wanted to have a unique mascot name.
“Instead of going to a place where people were seeing something potentially divisive, go to a mascot that could more easily unify,” she said. “No other Utah school has Chargers as its mascot. The board members were also saying this presents an image of strength and captures a little bit of the area’s culture.”
The controversy caught some local residents by surprise.
“To me, a mascot is usually an animal – I mean, I don’t know how to even respond to that,” local football coach Bill Cosper told the Salt Lake Tribune. “In all my years here, or in all of sports, that’s never been brought up.”
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When will this PC crap end?
It is official. I can't remember ever seing responses to a story that were all in agreement. This has to be the most outrageos abuse of power ever!
The rational that is behind this decision is beyond the term stupid. What would the, "Folks," and the school district approve of Barny the Purple Dinosaur. "Good evening Canyon River, tonight coming on to the field is the Canyon River Purple Dinosaurs, the Barny's."
The people of the Canyon River School District need to take a stand on the nincompoops that are supposed to be teaching these kids. The "Folks," who might take offense to the name Cougar, get a friggin life and get yur nose of the the Tabloids because that is where the name was invented.
It is truly scary that such loonacy( describes an idea that is thought of by a cross-breed between a loon and a doofus loonus ) abound these days.
I have never heard that defination, I always thought that a 'cougar" was a large cat? The use of this word in light of the new meaning only is offensive to those women (loose meaning) who are like that. and to the school if the name "cougar" offends these woman, they can consider themselves offended, have the students vote on it not some gooberhead on the school board.
How about the Charging Cougars…grrrrrrrr.
How about Crazy Bad Ass Honey Badger?
Oh if I had a nickel for every one of the Hewlett High School Crazy Bad Ass Honey Badger ladies basketball games that devolved into hitting and scratching matches.
This POLITICALLY CORRECT BULLSH! T, is "REALLY" starting to get "OLD"…
So Chargers, eh? What are they going to do, dress someone up as an old Dodge? What a horrible mascot name.
I have a hundred bucks that says none of those dried up old broads would qualify as a cougar.
REEEEEEEEEEEETARDED!
Silliness has run amok. Have libtards nothing else — I mean NOTHING else to whine about?
I do believe this has hit an all time low in the common sense arena…WHERE ARE ALL THE SENSIBLE ADULTS?
So instead…now this offensive to people in credit card debt! boohoo!
I would like to say that as a woman, I would not have found the mascot offensive. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the words "cougar" and "school mascot" was the wild cat. I did not envision a wrinkled up old woman hanging on a younger man with a martini in one had standing on the sidelines. sheesh. Political correctness is way out of hand.
We are going to "politically correct" ourselves right out of a country if we're not careful…
We are going to "politically correct" ourselves right out of a country if we're not careful…
Really? I am so F***ing tired of these liberal, granola munching, politically correct, holier-than-thou, find a reason to be offended, ass munchers! For heaven's sake it's a damn mountain lion!
Really? I am so F***ing tired of these liberal, granola munching, politically correct, holier-than-thou, find a reason to be offended, ass munchers! For heaven's sake it's a damn mountain lion!
Change it to "mountain Lions" and move on.
Change it to "mountain Lions" and move on.
This is hilarious. Are they going to have a wild cat or scantily clad hot moms running around the sidelines of the football game?
This is hilarious. Are they going to have a wild cat or scantily clad hot moms running around the sidelines of the football game?
Liberalism is a mental illness that can only be cured by growing up and learning how TO GET OVER IT when your feeling get hurt. Liberals…grow the Hell up and quit making yourselves look more stupid by the second. If liberals really wanted to save what is left of America that would all commit mass suicide!
Must be a lot of hot "cougars" in that town to be so offended. Might consider using Daffy Duck as a mascot.
It's this sort of nonsense that is helping to contribute to our children growing fat and stupid. Everything with even the remotest possibility of offending some poor neurotic soul is out of bounds – whether that soul is an adult or one of the sissy-in-progress kids. Enough already! Better yet, if this is the best that people responsible for education can do, give them pay cuts or fire them, never mind raises and paid pension plans. I know: make it the Corner Canyon High School "Water".
Sooooo, do we have to rename the cat formerly known as "cougar"? Maybe we can call it "&)!
Is it sad or hopeful that students have better judgement than parents and school district officials? Maybe both.
"Cougars" will offend women?? Oh yea, you are talking about UTAH ..
These people are idiots…wonder why our school system is screwed up….look at the people running it.
I hunt cougars.
Now when kids in that area hear the word cougar they will first think of middle-aged woman who hunts for younger men instead of the animal that has call the mountains home for thousands of years. Well at least the school officials accopplished their goal of unifying people. People are unified on how stuppid they are for making this, well except for the "cougars" that are teachers that have sex with their students. Oh ya, they also showed the kids how little their vote really counts.
i"ll have to stop 1996 XR7 for fear of offending. What was FordLincolnMercury thinking. Insensitive louts.
Yet more evidence that Amrica has lost its flippin' mind. Please kill me so I don't have to live in a world where everyone's highest goal is to be offended.
Our city is also building our community's second high school to be opened this fall, and my son will be attending. Their new student body also voted on and selected the "Cougar" as their mascot. We cannot wait for the new school to open and to be Cougars (and we live in one of the most conservative communities in the nation – College Station, TX). Of course, we're only joking when we say we're going to wear blinged out "I'm a Cougar Mom" t-shirts to the football games, but in all seriousness, we love the mascot choice and are very glad the district put it to the kids to decide. It has added to their pride and anticipation for their new school.
Political correctness is one of the greatest downfalls of our society. The claims in this article are completely ridiculous! You can make an insult out of anything. People need to lighten up and quit looking for a way to be offended.
Why not name the mascot the wimps then everyone will be equally offended.
blubbering idoits. You people are sickening. Move to canada if your offended.
Hey….. this is none offensive…..Corner Canyon Pussies! We're talking about little kitty cats! Damn people there was Cougars on this earth before horny old ladies were called Cougars. People have problems with mascot names. Lord let's hope we don't change the Havelock High School Rams…. hey…libs….a ram has balls….choke on that one.
Eww.
The choice of "Chargers" is demeaning to all of us who use credit cards. I for one am going to complain to the school district about this discriminatory name.
Kind of like voting for the President. You vote, but it doesn't matter because your vote doesn't mean anything. The President is chosen by the Electoral College (or whoever they are). The students vote but who cares, the admin. chooses. REAL DEMOCRATIC. We want your opinion—NOT!
More stupidity from the brain dead population. The other day I read the article about a school district that apologized because a student, in a point/counterpoint article, argued against gay couples having children. So nobody is allowed to have any other opinion other than what makes people feel good about themselves? Now, people are offended by a mascot because their only experience with the term cougar is from a t.v. show? People need to get a life. If you can't get a life, at least use your time that you waste in front of a t.v. to actually become EDUCATED! Retards.
What's wrong with Cougars? lol
How can a High Schooler be "a sexually aggressive middle-aged woman who attracts younger men"?
I am disgusted by the countless "Special Interest" and "Minority" groups that exist today as well as the general publics willingness to cave in to their demands. These groups don't want "Equal Rights", they want "More" rights. Every one in the United States belongs to a Minority Group except for one group of people. This group is held prisoner by the Main Stream Minorities, afraid to speak or act on anything because some offended person may drag them through the courts depleting every cent they have managed to save despite our corrupt Governments best efforts to drain our pockets dry. This group statistically works more hours, supports more family members and pays more taxes than all other Minority groups combined yet, the blame for everything is placed squarely on them. This is rhythmically in step with all minorities inability to take responsibility for their own actions and lives. This drastically misrepresented group can be condensed down to this, "White, Heterosexual, Christian, Males." You can fine tune this by considering Handicapped status etc. but generally these 4 attributes are what make up this Minority. "White, Hetero, Christian, Males" have no representation in the Law. They produce more income per person than any other group and are taxed more heavily and are legally and politically less represented than the rest of America. If what these Minorities truly want are "Equal Rights" then let the final members into the "Minority Club" and we can all be Minorities together. "White, Hetero, Christian, Males." The "Final Minority".
LMFAO!
why don't we name the team after the school board? call them the pussies.
I know people who work with horses, they are delicate and noble creatures. For any school to make a Charger their mascot offends me!
speaking from the Cougars perspective, What did we do wrong to be associated with this label, why not call these older women what they really are PIGS!
Jennifer Toomer-Cook….she has a hyphenated last name. People that have hyphenated names are usually the ones to think this sort of stuff up.
name the team after the school board. call them the pussies.
Purrfect
so the name of a wild animal is disrespectful to women. This is insane..
lame, brainless – since when does a non-standard usage of a word supercede the true definition – might as well call the mascott "Alphabet" – oh that's right, they might get sued by Campbell's Soup!
Must be some utes fans in the complaining ranks
Just using the "offensive" as an excuse
I am a woman that is pretty easily offended when I feel women are being degraded. And I 'm with you Alan, a cougar is an animal. I wouldn't find a cougar mascot offensive. And I say if an older woman can attract some young buck–then more power to her.
Old men have been doing it for centuries. I believe the term used for that is "Sugar Daddy." Are we going to go pull the candies by the same name out of stores because some idiot might be offended. Honestly, we take this political correctness too far. We get offended by things that SHOULDN'T offend us and our totally okay with things that SHOULD offend us!
Keep talking about living with "your God" (my God too) while you still have that right, Alan. Its just a matter of time before we won't be able to reference him publicly at all…..now that SHOULD OFFEND people, but it doesn't. Hooters is perfectly fine though. Go figure.
Bring on the cougars !
Bring on the cougars !
I take offense to the term "Chargers"! I can't help it if I live off of credit. I'm filing suit against the school…… right after I go to bankruptcy court.