Catholic school to change Crusader mascot so as not to offend Muslims

College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts is considering changing its "Crusader" moniker and mascot for fear of offending Muslims.

On February 6, 48 members of the Holy Cross faculty co-signed a letter to the editors of The Crusader, the school newspaper, asking them, along with the student body, to begin discussions about changing the name of the paper in response to the growing anti-Muslim tensions in the United States and the fact that the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) official newspaper has the same name as the school paper.

"In response to the growing anti-Muslim tensions in our country, and to the fact that the Ku Klux Klan official newspaper shares the same name as our own," the letter begins, "we the undersigned faculty members encourage the Editorial Board, and the Holy Cross student body in general, to initiate a discussion about changing the name of the Holy Cross student newspaper 'The Crusader.'"

The Crusader replied to the faculty letter with a response, in which it expressed "solidarity" with the faculty's concerns, and encouraged dialogue on the issue.

"Over the remainder of the semester, we will be publishing a series of editorials on the topic of The Crusader’s name from students, faculty, and staff alike," they said.

After the editor's response to the letter, College president Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J. assembled a committee of students, alumni, faculty and staff to hold discussions this fall concerning the appropriateness of the Crusader moniker and mascot.

The group is to weigh in on the following question: "In what ways do you think the Crusader moniker and mascot are appropriate, or inappropriate, representations of the College, given our mission, values and identity?"

The Crusader mascot depicts a warrior, "an armored sword-wielding, cross-bearing icon of the Christian knights of the Crusades," a centuries-long struggle to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslim invaders.

The crusading Christians of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries fought to more than defend their homeland from the invading infidels; they sought also to preserve their Christian heritage. The crimes committed in the name of the Crusades were the fault of individual soldiers, and never an official part of the Crusades; in fact, such crimes ran directly contrary to the Catholic virtues expected among medieval knights and soldiers and were punished severely.

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