NEWINGTON - Call them a force of nature.

       A search committee concluded months of deliberation last Wednesday night with the unveiling of Newington High School’s (NHS) new mascot: the Nor’easters.

       "It was a very collaborative committee and I'm pleased with the outcome,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Maureen Brummett.

       The Committee �" over two dozen NHS educators, Board of Education (BOE) members, students, parents, and alumni �" announced their final pick at that evening’s BOE meeting. The Board voted unanimously to adopt the new mascot.

       "I was so pleased with the participation of so many members of the public and school community. It was quite an adventure,” said BOE Chair Paul Vessella, a Committee member himself. “My sincere thanks to everyone who put in the many hours that went into our mascot search."

       The change �" a pivot from the controversial Indians imagery that has sparked similar conversations across other Connecticut communities �" has already prompted impassioned social media discussion, along with an avalanche of trash talk inspiration; everything from Game of Thrones quotes to classic rock references (“Riders on the Storm”, “You’re as Cold as Ice”).

       "Your typical whiteout blizzard night [in the stands] would be great. I could picture an announcer saying a ‘storm's a brewin’, or ‘the forecast calls for a Nor'easter’ at the football game,” said Mike Johnson, an NHS graduate and parent who chaired the Committee.

       Johnson reached out to a friend of his �" an artist �" to sketch out some tentative apparel imagery. While the logo and costume are a long way from official, the name has inspired everything from storm clouds to a snarling yeti.

       "It's ours. We can get as creative as we want,” said Board member Michael Branda, who also took part in the Committee discussions. “We're setting our own path."

       But as the community looks ahead to the wider rebranding process, Committee Members say they expect some of the controversy regarding both the name �" and the change in and of itself �" to linger.

       Branda thinks that time will warm some detractors to the Nor’easters name.

       "It's literally impossible for this committee to come up with a name everyone would like universally,” he said. “This wasn't our first pick when we got to the top 20. It grew on people as we saw the opportunities."

       The Committee went through 140 names �" suggestions coming from all corners of the community �" over the course of its deliberations.

       The group filtered them down to the top 22, then a top 10, and then a final four: The Defenders, The Narwals, The Ravens, and the Nor’easters.

       They worked to narrow their list down to names that were unique, fun, gender neutral, and had some connection to Newington’s history, said Committee member Matt Rossi.

       Common names across other communities were quickly filtered out, as well as those that wouldn’t align with Newington’s blue and gold uniform colors, he said.

       They also avoided names already being utilized by middle and elementary schools, as well as local Parks and Rec and travel sports teams.

       "I'm impressed with all the work and collaboration,” said BOE member Beth Manke-Hutvanger, an NHS graduate. “This is something that's been talked about for years and years, since I was in high school. It's a good step forward."

       But the change struck a different chord with other residents that sounded off on social media threads �" where the change has had mixed reactions throughout the days following its announcement.

       The former Indians mascot, detractors say, was a nod to Native American history and a symbol of town pride.

       BOE member Steve Silvia, who said he would support the wider community’s consensus on the change, indicated that he had, personally, struggled with the idea of a new mascot �" he says he hopes the path forward strikes a middle ground.

       "I don't think there was any ill intent in the original,” he said. “I understand the need for change, [but] I don't want us to just sweep aside the purpose of the original mascot. I hope as we rebrand ourselves, we're able to still be respectful of the history of the school." 

       The Committee’s process began this past fall with an introductory presentation from Dr. Glenn Mitoma, a human rights professor at UCONN. While he too, stated that the original mascot was probably not derived with ill-intent, he also advised the Committee to base its decision-making on the impact stereotypical and, at times derogatory, Native imagery can have on a school community.

       The American Psychological Association (APA) called for the retirement of all school mascots that utilize Native American industry back in the early 2000’s. Both the American Sociological Association and the American counseling Association followed suit with similar resolutions �" in 2007 and 2011, respectively.

       The Center for American Progress cited these developments in a 2014 report titled “Missing the Point: The Real Impact of Native Mascots and Team Names on American Indian and American Alaskan Youth”.

       The report outlines specific incidents wherein which Native American mascot imagery created “hostile learning environments”, provoked bullying, and eroded Native student self-esteem.

       "We tried to keep the education, equity, and liability pieces in mind. Those were the key tenets we kept going back to,” said Jonah Borrup, a student at NHS. “"I talked to my peers about this, and I know my committee members got feedback from community members. This was a lot of information gathering and looking at history. No one piece became the one thing we made our decision from - it was a combination of things."

       The Committee also conducted community surveys �" not to relegate the final decision to a vote, but to solicit ideas, Johnson said.

       "I was impressed with the ingenuity, and people that pulled up historic facts along the way,” he said.