READING - Even though Twin Valley High School has recognized as official a student club hoping to change its mascot, it must still face a First Amendment lawsuit.
Reading federal judge Jeffrey Schmehl on March 26 refused to dismiss the case against Twin Valley School District brought over its initial resistance to the "Retire the Raider" club. Earlier this year, TVSD said since it had branded the club official, there was no longer a case.
Plaintiff Sloane Wolfe has withdrawn her motion for an injunction after a faculty advisor stepped forward but still has claims for damages and attorneys fees, Schmehl wrote.
"(I)t is undisputed that TVSD still plans to enforce the requirement that each student club must have a willing faculty advisor before such a club can be approved," he added.
"Therefore, if the current faculty advisors to Retire the Raider should suddenly resign, the opportunity for TVHS to discourage faculty from serving as advisors still exists. As a result, Plaintiff may still have a claim for future injunctive relief before Sloane graduates."
Wolfe sued the district in 2023 while she was a sophomore. She took up her older sister's cause against the Raider mascot, depicted in one logo as a Native American with two feathers in his hair.
Wolfe's lawsuit said students and members of the community find the mascot "deeply offensive" for appropriating the image of a Native American as a symbol for a non-indigenous school district.
It complained that prior iterations of the logo featured the mascot holding a hatchet. And it noted a previous attempt to create a "No Place for Hate" program was rejected by school officials.
The Wolfes and another student who started an online petition were retaliated against, the suit says, claiming a car followed the Wolfes home after a board meeting.
Wolfe wanted Retire the Raider to become an official student club in order to hold regular meetings at school facilities, among other privileges. Twin Valley said if there were no faculty advisor, it could not permit that.
An advisor must manage the club's email address and outside correspondence, manage money and spending and lock up school facilities after meetings.
Retire the Raider has been an approved student club since Nov. 17, 2023, though the school still uses the name. The school's football helmet features a spear.
Schmehl is concerned about allegations that the school's principal, William Clements, discouraged staff from becoming the club's advisor. That charge keeps Wolfe's First Amendment and Equal Access Act claims alive.
Under the EAA, a public school that receives federal funding can't discriminate against students who wish to conduct a meeting on the basis of the content of the speech.