BY ANTHONY RIZZO
A complaint filed in February against Michigan schools with American Indian mascots was dismissed this week by the U.S. Department of Education.
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights was notified of their complaint's dismissal this week.
Currently, American Indian mascots are allowed if they don't create a "hostile environment." People filing complaints against schools with such mascots must also prove there is an intent to cause harm.
Leslee Fritz is the Director of Public Affairs for the MDCR.
She said some mascots may have the ability to hold students back from their full potential.
"Essentially it becomes a limiting image. That's all the students can see themselves as. Because there are not a lot of competing images of Native Americans in our popular culture, it becomes very limiting; and therefore, it limits self-perspective, self-understanding and what individual students believe what they are capable of doing. As a result, their academic performance suffers," Fritz said.
Fritz said her department presented a number of studies to the Department of Education that showed such mascots negatively impact students' academic performance.