Attention Mascots (and teams with one)

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by wireties

That is probably the best move, make the mascot female. Girls are smarter and generally more socially appropriate at high school ages.

My 2 cents...

You're two cents is horrifically sexist. This isn't a gender issue. It's a issue of mentors/parents not telling their students "don't be a [expletive] creep. I've had young ladies who were just as inappropriate as young men. I don't care about the gender, harassment is harassment. Nobody deserves to feel unsafe.

If there is a complaint it must be dealt with. Preferably by sitting down with the accused party, getting their side of the story, and having a chat about what they can do to avoid situations like it in the future. Because, rarely are these complaints 100% fabrications. But they can sometimes be simple misunderstandings. Maybe it's implement a hands off policy. Maybe require a mascot handler to protect them from he said/she said type situations (third party observer). Maybe it's remove them from the costume. Have a conversation about it.

Folks, if you feel unsafe, go to a volunteer. Volunteers, if a person comes up to you and says they feel unsafe, go to a key volunteer.