Maryville High School (Tennessee)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maryville High School is four-year public high school founded in 1918 in Maryville, Blount County, Tennessee.

There are approximately 1400 students enrolled, and the 2005-2006 senior class consisted of 279 students. The staff-to-student ratio is approximately 1:15. The current school principal is Dr. Ken Jarnigan.

Maryville High School is famous for both its academic and athletic excellence. The Governor of Tennessee has designated Maryville High School as an A+ school, and five National Merit Finalists graduated in the class of 2003. Almost every year students qualify for various state and national championships in both academics and extracurricular activities.

Many of its sports teams (nicknamed the "Red Rebels") are also well-known for region and state championships nearly every year. The Red Rebel football team is the 2006 AAAA Tennessee State Champion, and has won six of the last seven state championships.

1 History
2 Controversy
3 Student Life
4 Resources
5 External links

[edit] History

The southwest wing is the oldest part of the current building, built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration. The school has been extended several times to the northeast. The school once included the Maryville Polytechnic Institute building, which faced onto Broadway Avenue, but this building has since been demolished.

[edit] Controversy

Since 1938, Maryville High School teams have been using the name Red Rebels, and since the 1960's (around the centennial of the Civil War) the Confederate flag. The use of the flag was obviously not inspired by racism, as Blount County was the only county in Tennessee that supported the Union during the Civil War.

In 1999, Dr. Jeffrey Whitlow, a local doctor, filed a civil rights complaint against the school board, equating the football games with Ku Klux Klan rallies. The school board promptly changed the school's flag, but fans, almost exclusively students, continued displaying, wearing, and bringing the controversial symbol to support the rarely defeated football team. In 2005, at a security consultant's behest, the school board banned all flags from any school event. The action was in response to a number of racist threats received at MHS's neighbor, William Blount High School, that put that school into numerous lockdowns, as well as the racist vandalism of a Hispanic-owned grocery store.

Supporters of the school board defended their position by stating that the flags (most of which were fastened on poles used to make more celebratory noise by banging on bleachers) were a security issue that could cause serious injury. Opponents argue that the ban is obviously one on the symbol itself, a symbol which, in their minds, no longer represents racism, but is merely an emblem of their beloved school.

Despite administrators' attempts, the student body still managed to bring the Rebel flag into their stadium and others on their clothes, tied around their waists, or even painted on their bodies. When assistant principals attempted to kick students out for wearing the flag, a $20 million lawsuit was pressed against the school for denying the right of free speech. In response, students created facebook groups with names like, "Don't like the rebel flag? Well, don't fly it and shut the hell up!" where they argue that the flag is not a symbol of racism because the Civil War was not fought over slavery, but over state's rights.

Controversy surrounding the issue received national attention. The former president of a North Carolina NAACP chapter agreed with the Sons of the Confederacy's opposition of the ban, saying that the flag should no longer be considered a symbol of racism. In fact, H.K. Edgerton organized a walk from Johnson City to Maryville to protest the decision, and he subsequently attended every football game of the season dressed in a Confederate uniform and carrying a Confederate flag.

In 2007, Josh Ellis and Ellis Metz brought their chosen senior mascot - a stuffed raccoon - into the stadium while supposedly shouting, "Get a picture with the coon!" Though the animal was immediately banned, Dr. Jarnigan has been quoted as defending the students: "These children, I think, did not know [what the symbol meant] at all. It was just another silly thing they were bringing in as a mascot." A "diversity council" has since been formed at the school to raise racism awareness.

Josh later wrote a later to the community, asking that the raccoon issue be laid to rest, as it was causing more problems now that it had become a major community issue. Here's the text of the letter:

"I would like to start off by sincerely apologizing to anyone who was hurt or offended by our actions at this year’s Alcoa/Maryville football game. We never intended the raccoon as a symbol of racism or bigotry, and we sincerely regret that it was ever interpreted in that light. More than anything we wish the whole situation could have been avoided, because we believe it has had a negative impact on the relationship between our two communities. Ideally, the situation would have been handled swiftly and efficiently shortly after the incident occurred, but this did not prove to be possible. So I feel that I should come out and explain our side, in hope that we may be able to put this divisive issue to rest once and for all. As many of you know, we found the Raccoon in a parking lot in downtown Maryville as we were preparing for Alcoa week activities. Shortly thereafter, we affectionately named him “Young Roc” and made him our class mascot. We never once considered the possibility that our fellow citizens would interpret a stuffed raccoon that is missing multiple legs, almost half its fur, and is mounted on driftwood as a symbol of racism or hate. We realize now that the term “coon” was used in the past as a slur on the African-American race. No doubt these were some of the darkest times in our nations history, but none of us were there to experience them. On the contrary, we have all grown up in good homes where we have been taught to love and treat everyone equally and with respect, and we have all grown up in our wonderful Twin Cities community, where racial tensions are not the norm. So where would we have been expected to learn that derogatory term? I feel that our diversity is one of the things that truly make our community and our country great places where people want to live. But the problem with diversity comes when we focus on it so much, that it becomes divisive and brings our differences to the forefront. The great thing about living in our nation today is the fact that we don’t have to worry about our differences because we are all equals. This was not the case 50 years ago, and as a nation we still haven’t truly reached our potential to love and accept everyone, regardless of race, religion, or social status. But I feel we have made tremendous progress. Do you not see it as a step toward equality and tolerance that when my generation hears the word “coon” we do not even realize the term has such an ugly past? I see that as a sign of progress, and the only thing that bringing this issue to the point we are at now has done is teach the term to a new generation of Blount County’s children. If we had known that taking the raccoon to that game would have such a harmful effect on our community, we would have never considered even picking it up. So I pose this question to those of you who still feel the raccoon was taken to the game and used with shameless intentions. In order for ones actions to be deemed “racist”, would their intentions not have to match? If someone acted with no prejudice towards any particular people, then how can you say they acted out of hate or bigotry? This was an issue of ignorance more than anything else. It was never a racial issue until it was made one by those who rail for tolerance, but refuse to be tolerant of those who’s actions are the result of a lack of knowledge on the subject. In my opinion, these meetings, letters, and articles have done more to divide our community than our raccoon could have ever done. I feel we can all agree that our schools need to have a heavier focus on the civil rights movement so that we can properly understand what the African-American community went through just to achieve the rights and privileges that many of us have taken for granted for so long. If we can do that, I think it would go a long way towards improving understanding and tolerance in our beautiful Twin-Cities. The raccoon issue has run its course; please join me in putting this issue to rest and allowing the healing process to begin. Thank You.

Sincerely,

Joshua Ellis"

[edit] Student Life

Like at every other high school, Maryville creates lasting relationships for the students. The students attend four classes a day in a block schedule, with a fifteen minute break in between first and second block.

The clubs that are available for the students are as follows: Band, Art Club, Climbing Team, Cultural Awareness Club, Cycling Club, Dance Team, DEBS, DECA, Drama, Echoes Literary Magazine, Equestrian Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Forensics, Jazz Band, Juggling Team, Junior Classical League, Key Club, Maryville Scholars, Maryville Singers, Miniature Golf Club, Mock Trial, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, Orchestra, Outdoor Activity Club, Positive Role Models, Red & Black School Newspaper, Rugby Team, Scholars' Bowl, Step Team, Student Council, Trebelettes, Yearbook Staff, and the National Society of Pigsters of America.