CALIFORNIA, USA — Junipero Serra High School in Tierrasanta has rebranded to Canyon Hills High School. On Tuesday, more than a dozen people gathered to protest.
“They have a national reputation,” said Chuck Cox, a resident in the area of 48 years. “Serra does. Canyon Hills? What’s that?”
They said it’s not that they are necessarily upset with the name change, but rather, in their words, they didn’t have an opportunity to weigh in beforehand.
"Open this back up,” said Cox. “Allow us in this community to have a say. That’s all we’re asking for.”
“To not let us have a voice? That’s wrong,” said Gary Haigh, another local whose three grown kids graduated from the school.
In March, the SDUSD school board voted unanimously to change Serra High’s name to Canyon Hills High School and the mascot from the conquistadors to a rattlesnakes or rattlers.
This came after over 1,200 people signed a petition on change.org asking the school to change its mascot and name. The petition argued that the original mascot and name were offensive to indigenous people and celebrated California’s history of violence against native people.
The San Diego Unified School District, however, said the community did have a chance to weigh in, including virtual town halls.
This is a statement from the district to News 8 on Tuesday, July 6:
"In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom apologized to the California Native American community for the “genocide” committed against their ancestors, establishing a Truth and Healing Council, and calling for a statewide dialogue. That same year, Stanford University and other institutions began removing tributes of Father Junípero Serra because of the role played by missionaries in the destruction of Indigenous communities. Many cities have also removed their own Father Serra memorials.
At San Diego Unified, the effort to rename Serra High School has been student led. With several petitions in their hands, the students approached Serra High School staff. Together, students and school staff launched an extensive community input campaign. The community input effort included:
· Public virtual town halls over a period of four months
· Social media engagement and content sharing to inform the community of name change efforts
· Involvement of local and national media outlets to inform the community of name change efforts, resulting in significant coverage
· A formal ballot vote. All students received a paper ballot, parents/guardians and the large alumni network were emailed digital ballots, including alumni from the first graduating class.
This transparent community input effort culminated in a 70 page proposal that was submitted to the School Names Committee. The proposal included all letters of support and opposition submitted to the district as of that time.
The School Names Committee voted to endorse the name change effort and submitted a recommendation to the Board of Education. The Board of Education discussed the name change at a public meeting and unanimously voted to change the name of Serra High School to Canyon Hills High School, along with the Kumeyaay translation of “Mat Kwatup KunKun.” In addition, the mascot was changed to the Rattlers with the Kumeyaay translation of “‘ewii tenwai.
A legacy room will be created at Canyon Hills High School to feature the rich 40+ year history of the school.
The school board has the sole authority to name and rename San Diego Unified Schools. San Diego Unified encourages students to get involved in their community, and this is an example of students taking civic action to build a more inclusive and welcoming school."
Still, some are holding on to that original name.
"I watched that high school being built,” said Cox.
The group said next week, it will ask the school board to list this as an agenda item for a closer look.
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