GRINNELL, Iowa - A petition started by Grinnell College alumni seeks to change the school's mascot.
It calls the name "Pioneers" inappropriate for a college that associates itself with social justice, saying it celebrates Western settlement on Indigenous people’s land and acts of genocide.
The Scarlet and Black newspaper reports that the petition had around 750 signatures from students, faculty and alumni as of September 1st.
The school's student government president sent the petition out through.The Scarlet and Black reported that Grinnell College President Anne Harris responded to the petition by saying the school is prepared to engage in discussion about the nickname.