A hook-nosed, headscarf-wearing Arab mascot at Coachella Valley High School has undergone a makeover. The school, one of the latest institutions to be swept up in team name-related outrage, has amended the caricature to have a sleeker, more dignified look, and changed its mascot to the “Mighty Arabs.”
See what they did there? The change — simply adding a positive adjective before the team name — was apparently made in consultation with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which also schooled the educational institution on why it shouldn’t use harem girls and belly dancers in halftime shows.
For those wondering why, exactly, the largely Hispanic community chose this mascot in the first place, they’ve got a reason: Coachella produces 95 percent of U.S.-grown dates, originally introduced to the area from the Middle East.
And now the wait begins: How long until someone from the other side slams the team for calling Arabs “mighty”?
