Pekin Community High School District 303

Pekin Community High School District 303 is a school district in Pekin, Illinois. It operates one high school, Pekin Community High School (PCHS). As of 2016 the school has 1,200 students. The 125-acre (51 ha) campus includes its principal campus buildings totaling 550,000 square feet (51,000 m2) of space; these buildings house 133 classrooms, the 600 seat F.M. Peterson Theater, two gymnasiums, a natatorium, and several computer labs.[1]

Mascot Controversy

From the high school's founding until the 1981 school year, the football team was officially named the "Pekin Chinks", represented by a red dragon logo, done in part to represent the town of Pekin's relation to the Chinese city of Peking.[2][3] Understandably, this name generated controversy for its use of a racial slur. In 1974, a vote was conducted within the student body to change the name, and the vote ended in a landslide victory for "chinks" at 1,034 votes to 182.[3] A second vote received similar results.[3] In 1980, after a wealth of controversy, the school board forced a name change to "Pekin Dragons"; a name that has stayed to the present. To this day, graduates from the pre-dragon era of the district have expressed a desire for the original name to return.[3][2]

References
  1. "Welcome About PCHS." Pekin Community High School District 303. Retrieved on February 15, 2016.
  2. "Controversial mascots". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  3. SIMON, ROGER. "The Chinks' nickname: It's not PC, it's decency". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2019-10-21.


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