While the removal of the Plainsmen mascot has sparked criticism and interest across the district, the move has hit one team particularly hard.
Cheerleaders, who have chants that use the word Plainsmen, and apparel that include the word are faced with inventing new chants and cheers and purchasing new equipment.
Cheerleaders across the squad are expressing concerns with recent changes, including senior Reagan Agostinoni.
“I’m annoyed because almost all of our cheers had Plainsmen in them, forcing us to change everything, holding us back in the beginning of the season,” she said.
Hoping the new mascot will continue to stick with the school’s horse theme, she said she hopes the process will be over soon.
“I’m more upset about the disruption it is causing. I think especially since a new mascot won’t affect me personally because I’m a senior, I’m more hurt we have to change everything,” Agostinoni said.
Teammate Maddy Silipigno, a senior, agrees. Saying she is sad for the loss of our Plainsmen image.
“I’m mostly sad that we are not Plainsmen anymore because we have been them as long as I’ve been in Shen,” Silipigno said, mourning over the removal of our school’s identity.
The shift towards a new mascot means that the team has to change some of their Plainsmen attire.
“It depends, we can’t advertise it but we have backpacks that say Plainsmen and we can still use them but other than that we need to change them,” Silipigno said.
Nonetheless, she said her excitement is through the roof, ready for change and cannot wait to see what we become.
Shen Cheerleader Ava Bagramian, currently in her junior year, vocalized her excitement for new chants to come.
“It has been interesting changing all of our cheers, losing a couple not being able to sub in Shen for Plainsmen but it hasn’t been too bad and I’m excited for the new cheers to come,” she said.
Bargramian, while having another year left, said she cannot wait to see how the school decides to move forward with this process.
