Is it legal for a public school team to be named the "dust devils"?

Question

In the public school system in the United States, is this legal? Is a religious term/issue involved in this?

Answer 1

A dust devil is a natural phenomenon, not a religious term.

Answer 2

Yes, it is legal. A dust devil is a small miniature tornado - very weak, small, and harmless. But we have a team called the Blue Devils.

If we wanted a team called the Blue Angels, I don't think there would be a fuss, but some places, there are zealots who have nothing better to do than nit pick. Just like the folks who protest the t eams called Redskins, Braves, etc.

I am of native American descent and those names don't offend me. I am also a Christian and the "devil" names don't offend either. It would be different if the schools were promoting devil worship. It's just a name, for pete's sake.

Answer 3

A "dust devil" is just a term for a wind that picks up some dust/dirt and spirals it around like a mini-tornado. They happen all the time here. There's no religious reference in it - and yes, it is legal.

Answer 4

Sure it's legal. If they can name a vacuum the Dirt Devil they can name a school team the Dust Devils.

Answer 5

Considering a dust devil as a desert tornado of sorts - I doubt they mean it in a religious way.

Hos sad is it the we have to PC about every silly thing -- maybe they should change the name to "the particulate matter resembling dirt blown up by a circumferentially rotating wind mass over a large area of sand typically known as a dessert"?

Answer 6

A dust devil (if I recall correctly) is a term referring to dust picked up by localized cyclonic wind currents that create what appears to be a miniature dust tornado. There is nothing religious about that.

Answer 7

There should be no problem. The only thing that I would have a problem with is that Catholics say dust devils are from the devil. But you have the Sun Devils of ASU, the New Jersey Devils (hockey). Why not the dust devils?

Answer 8

Yes, in fact there are many schools with the mascot of devil (e.g. Red Devils of Murtaugh H.S. in Idaho). There are also mascots of Angels, Saints, etc.. In your quest for an answer to your question be careful not to judge pro or con because in this case one mascot you may not like could be replaced by another mascot that somebody else doesn't like. I am thinking of the several H.S.'s who had to drop "Indian" and "Red Skin" from their name. As an American native I was offended that these names had to be removed. How other ethnic groups thought these names were offensive was beyond me.

Good luck in your quest.

Answer 9

Who cares? Time and money could be best spent on education. To many peolpe worry about non-issues rather than education.

I suppose it is the self segregation, politically correct and my human rights kind of thing. Meanwhile instead of just being a people and a community this sort of thing gets argued. So the children suffer but the adults get to make a point.

Answer 10

That's a new challenge to me! I'd say no, since "devils" have pretty much entered the mainstream at this point. And a dust devil is a name for an actual item, like an overgrown dust bunny.