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An elite Manhattan school’s mascot and motto woke-over was too much even for some residents of its progressive Upper West Side neighborhood Tuesday.
Collegiate School scrubbed religious references from its motto and seal and diluted its “Dutchman” mascot logo after spending three years studying the PC move, including with a 17-person “task force” that released a 407-page epic report on the matter.
“Enough already. What else are they going to change?” said a woman named Sarah — who only gave her first name “because I don’t want the woke mob coming for me.”
Sarah, 39, who works in accounting and has an 8-year-old and 9-year-old in public school, added, “Mascots are supposed to be fun.
“How can you take it so seriously? All of a sudden here is this new awakening and everything must change.”
Upper West Sider Court Hassinger questioned the K-12 school’s whopping $60,000 annual tuition, given the PC posturing.
“They are paying a lot of money for a watered-down milquetoast education,” he said of Collegiate’s parents.
Founded in 1628 during the Dutch reign in New York, Collegiate removed the “A.D.” from the founding date on its seal because of its religious overtones and adopted a new motto that eliminated a reference to God.
Backers argued that the school was in need of updating its symbols to better reflect the times.
But “they have gone too far,” Hassinger said. “It’s dangerous for our freedom and independent thinking.”
Gordon Francis, who works in mortgage sales, said the disposal of religious references at the centuries-old school was misguided.
“Why are they taking God out of everything?” he asked. “I feel like they want to move to a godless society, and that makes me angry.”
Francis said woke imperatives were taking an excessive hold in education.
“I think they are buying into this woke culture too much,” he said. “It’s beyond being too sensitive.”
One parent argued that his alma mater was indulging in empty cosmetic posturing.
“Schools are spending time on issues that optically look good for the times but are inconsequential,” the grad said.
But other locals told The Post that they backed Collegiate’s reform efforts.
“The mascot is not welcoming to a diverse group,” said Janet Brenner, who has two kids in another private school. “We have to be neutral. We live in a multi-cultural city with different religions, and if it’s offensive to even one group of people, then remove it. What about families that are atheist?”
Brenner said she wasn’t bothered by the school’s campaign — no matter the PC climate behind it.
“Perhaps it’s a part of the woke culture, but is that necessarily a bad thing?” she asked.
A 14-year-old student at Brooklyn’s Berkeley Carroll private school also agreed with the makeover.
“I think it’s a good idea to change it for it to be open to everyone,” she said. “Some people don’t believe in God, and they might think it’s too specific to one god.’’
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