FORSYTH — On Wednesday, Forsyth Public Schools announced it was launching a community survey surrounding a new logo, a four-day school week, and its schools' "climates and cultures," sparking conversation about the dogie iconography/mascot.
“The whole plan was, y’know, to start moving back through the buildings, get our purple updated, get some school spirit back in the building," said Chris Hess, Forsyth Public Schools' superintendent, who explained the mascot update was intended to eliminate the schools' variety of logos.
On Friday, Preston McGregor, a Forsyth High School junior and student body president, responded with a video on Facebook, expressing community concerns surrounding the imagery.
"I hope you take student interest into account when making your decision. Remember, dogies fight harder than any other animal," said McGregor at the end of the 10-minute video.
Students, staff, and alumni expressed their dissatisfaction with the proposed logo updates to the school's superintendent, student body president, and MTN.
“(The original) logo represents this town and Forsyth’s identity. It’s the first logo you see when you come into town," said Shane Cole, a Forsyth High School history teacher and head football coach.
McGregor's Facebook response, at the time of publishing, received more than 150 interactions, more than 50 comments, and nearly 100 shares, contributing to the school's decision to move forward with a reinstatement of its original logo, dubbed "the old logo" by many locals.
“We just don’t feel like the new options represented us well as a school," said Annika Sorenson, Forsyth High School's student body vice president.
When the school proposed "the old logo" to its branding partner, BSN Sports, however, school officials said the Texas-based company rejected the idea because the dogie shares too similar a likeness to the logo of the University of Texas' Longhorns.
“They were trying to give us a trademark and they couldn’t because they said it was too close to another mascot," said Hess.
The students said they have written to the University of Texas, explaining the situation and are awaiting a reply.
“The identity of the school is really what the school is built on," said McGregor.
1974 Forsyth High School graduate Mike Blakesley, who operates the Roxy Theatre, said the original logo is a reminder that alumni and their hometown are resilient like their mascot, "a motherless calf … The dogie fights for itself, it doesn’t have anything handed to it," according to McGregor.
“This town has been declared dead so many times over the years," said Blakesley, about the effects of railroad and mining operation closures, "but we’ve always come back, and we always do come back, and we always will.”
