CT interviewed multiple 1992 Naperville Central Alumni, the last class who sported Redskins as their mascot, before being changed to the Redhawks, on their opinion on the mascot change. Central Alumni included JC Kreamer, Nancy Kreamer and Lee Haskell.

Q: What was your opinion on the Redskin issue?

JC Kreamer (JK): I was in favor of keeping the name.

Q: Why?

JK: For several reasons, but the biggest and most important reason for me was that we held the name in such high regard and it was something that we really respected and something that we held in high honor and something that we—well it never really crossed my mind or any of my friends’ [minds] that I’m aware of that we were using it in any type of derogatory fashion. In fact, it was something really held in high honor.

Nancy Kreamer (NK): I was against the change because I didn’t see it as demeaning or using it in a negative way.

Q: Has your opinion changed on that or are you still pro-Redskin?

JK: I guess, well it’s hard to paint with a broad brush, I think you have to take it on a case by case basis, but for our school and how we held the name in high regard, my opinion probably stays the same. So, obviously, you don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, you don’t want to use a name that people view as being derogatory, you should look at the situation and see what the history is behind the name, what the traditions are. And, maybe, at some schools, the way they do some ceremonies around the name, maybe that could be viewed as disrespectful or something along those lines, but at Naperville Central, at least when I was there, they didn’t do that. I didn’t see it anyway.

NK: I am still am against it.

Q: You were on sports, correct?

JK: Yes.

Q: Did the mascot have any effect on your sports?

JK: I really thought we had a great school fight song. I don’t know if it had any direct impact on sports, but we held the name in high regard and whenever we took the field, we took a lot of pride in school and school name. And not just my sports, the sports that I didn’t play, and the girls’ sports, too, you know, it wasn’t just a name for the guys’ teams it was team name. It wasn’t even just for sports; it was for the whole school, like the music department. I was active in the music department a little bit too, and maybe it’s not as prevalent in those areas, but I think a lot of people, across the board, not just in sports, took a lot of pride in the name of the school, too.

Q: When did you first hear about it?

JK: From what I can remember, it only became an issue when the name change was brought [into consideration] by the superintendent to rename the mascot. Because, my freshman year, my sophomore year, my junior year, I don’t remember hearing anything [about a name change]. To be honest with you, I don’t remember any real discussion [of the name change] in the fall of my senior year, the fall of ’91, I don’t remember it even in the Winter months of ’92, I only remember hearing about it in the mid to late spring of ’92 when we got close to graduation.

Q: When it did come up was it a really big deal?

JK: It was a big deal, but again, on the timeline, it was late April or May of 1992, and by that time, as seniors, at that time you’re focusing on other things like going to college, going into the military or doing something else. But yeah, it was a hot topic.

Q: Was it discussed at school?

JK: It wasn’t really a discussion that I remember the teachers having with the students. I think towards the end of the school year when the topic became an issue, it was widely discussed amongst the students, I just, I don’t exactly remember… it was 22 years ago, and if my memory is correct it was never really discussed until the spring. I do remember it being a hot topic, a discussion amongst the students when the school board meetings came up. The name change wasn’t brought on by an outcry by the students, by the teachers or by the administrators of the school… I don’t remember there ever being a public outrage at the school… I don’t remember there being any heated arguments between the students at the school.

Q: Do you think being a senior changed your view on the topic because you were so close to leaving?

Nancy Kreamer: We had pride in our school, Lexi. We have Redskins shirts that we will proudly wear when our children attend.

JK: You know, there’s still a neat mosaic.

NK: Yeah, by the swimming pool.

JK: And they kept it. That’s the history of the school.

Q: Did this event truly affect your high school experience?

NK: Well that was like the biggest thing to happen when we were there, it was like the controversy near the end. Like when [the class of ‘92] says, “I graduated from Naperville Central,” we always say, “We were the last Redskin class.” Don’t you always say that? I always say that.

Lee Haskell (LH): I have said that before, yes.

NK: Whoever the next class, after us, I think that it affected them a lot more because [the school] started covering things up and changing.

Q: How did the majority feel?

JK: Most of my friends wanted to keep the name and for the most part they were disappointed by the change.

LH: I think the majority wanted to keep the name only because it never occurred to any of us that it was a problem. At the time, it never made any sense to us.

JK: If you actually research this, there are high schools on Indian reservations that are named Redskins.

Q: In Neshaminy High School, students are getting punished for not printing the name Redskins…

NK: Of all the things high school students do, they’re getting punished for that?