The Tuesday, Jan. 26, Garland ISD board of trustees meeting brought a long-awaited change to the district and to South Garland High School. A unanimous vote was taken to change the SGHS mascot from the Colonels to the Titans. The change will take effect in August 2021.
“This is not about changing the culture of the past,” Dr. Ricardo Lopez, GISD superintendent said. “This is about instilling a different horizon for the future.”
Lopez explained that he could have made the decision, but because of the $1.75 million price tag, along with his hope that the change would be a uniting process, he brought the matter to the board of trustees.
To explore and make recommendations for a new mascot, four sub-committees were appointed. These were Alumni, Parents and Community, Current Staff and Current Students. The groups first met during the first week of January.
Jorge Ramirez, a South Garland HS junior and member of the Current Students Subcommittee, will be in the first class to graduate as the Titans. He announced the mascot decision to the board of trustees and explained that the decision had been narrowed down to two choices – the Texans and the Titans and that the Titans was the clear winner between those two finalists.
The Titan, a figure from Greek mythology, was chosen because Titans are both male and female and represent strength and persistence and greatness. They are resilient, fierce and unique.
The Colonels mascot had been chosen by the incoming students when the school opened in 1964. The chosen flag was the confederate flag and the fight song was “Dixie.” The school also had a mural of a plantation on the cafeteria wall.
Over time, realizing the important need for the change, the flag and song were replaced and the mural was removed. Last year, the Garland Unit of the NAACP asked for the mascot change. The organization also asked that the name of the school be changed.
Lopez absolutely agreed that the mascot change was in order, but explained at a previous board of trustees meeting that the names of all the Garland high schools were by geographic region. North Garland High School is in North Garland. Naaman Forest High School is on Naaman School Road, Lakeview Centennial High School is by the lake, etc. For that reason, he did not agree that a name change was needed.