BELLEFONTE — The Bellefonte Red Raiders’ nickname, logo and mascot isn’t going anywhere — for now.

At Tuesday night’s Bellefonte school board meeting, six Bellefonte residents spoke during public comment about the nickname. Three spoke in favor of retaining the nickname Red Raiders, while two spoke in favor of getting rid of it. One speaker did not take a position.

It was the board’s first in-person meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools and buildings in mid-March. Up until Tuesday, meetings were being held via Zoom. Over the weekend, the Red Raiders nickname became the center of a firestorm on social media after a petition circulated on Change.org. Organizers of the petition claim the current mascot and logo “promote and reinforce bigotry, racism and harmful stereotypes.”

According to the post on Change.org, the petition said that “the Bellefonte community deserves a new school logo and mascot that is anti-racist, anti-bias, all-inclusive, and honors our great community and its history! Our students deserve better than the ‘Red Raider.'”

The board took no action regarding the mascot on Tuesday night.

The first person to speak was Ida Higgins O’Donald, who resides in Bellefonte. She said that she helped to create the petition on June 10.

“Bellefonte can be a leader once again,” O’Donald said. “Several other schools in Pennsylvania have similar petitions circulating to remove racist mascots. Several states have also introduced bills to eliminate the use of harmful mascots in schools. Our mascot should reflect our community.”

Bellefonte resident Jack Bechdel spoke in favor of keeping things as they are in the district. He created a petition aimed at retaining the Red Raider as Bellefonte’s nickname.

“The Red Raider is a symbol of strength and loyalty. It was never about race. We don’t have a caricature of a Native American as our symbol. I’ve had a great response to my petition … we are not in any way trying to harm anybody,” Bechdel said.

Kim Gasper, a teacher and coach in the district was the lone administrator to speak during public comment. She is also an alumni of Bellefonte. Gasper said that she’s in favor of keeping the Red Raider mascot.

“The Red Raider is something that we are proud of. The Native Americans that came to Bellefonte were farmers, just like the people today in Bellefonte. We have farmers. That’s what we do and that’s who I think we represent,” Gasper said.

Joseph Herbstritt, a member of Bellefonte’s Class of 2006, would like to see the nickname changed and the logo removed, he said.

“Use of our Native American mascot, the Red Raider, is cultural appropriation. It’s also a racial slur. Our mascot is actually not even representative of the indigenous people that would have lived in this area,” Herbstritt said.

Alexis Gibson of Jacksonville Road spoke in favor keeping Bellefonte the Red Raiders. She cited former United States’ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her time at the podium.

“Condoleezza Rice said ‘do not sanitize history by taking down our monuments.’ This meant something special to me because in some regards, you are trying to take down a monument,” Gibson said of the controversy.

The final person to speak during public comment was Leah Guizar, who resides in Bellefonte. She didn’t take a stance on the mascot controversy, but did address the board and the community members who were present.

“I would like to offer a different perspective. While I realize that both sides of the mascot issue have valid points, I think it’s important to recognize that there are much larger issues facing our district at this time,” Guizar said. “Issues such as students, teachers, school requirements for re-opening, a budget, curriculum, programs and getting our buildings updated and up to code. The mascot issue does not directly impact student outcomes and thus it is currently irrelevant.”

Guizar believes that the mascot issue can be put on the back burner.

“Should or could this issue be addressed in the future when times are not so uncertain and turbulent? Yes, absolutely,” Guizar said matter-of-factly. “But now is not the time for this.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, several board members thanked those who came out to speak about the issue. The mascot conversation will likely continue at the board’s next meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30.