Student Athletes Fighting Racism in Sports (SAFRIS) is a new club dedicated to creating a school environment where people can be heard and action will be taken if an incident of racism in sports occurs.

Captains of the club, sophomores Jacob Smagula and Jonah Barer are creating a petition for the removal of racist symbols and slogans that the high school has not yet eliminated. The high school’s mascot used to be a Native American until it was changed to a Spartan Warrior. However, there are still remnants of the Native American symbol at the school, including arrows on the second-floor of Tappan Gym and the slogan, “Roll Tribe” which is placed on school shirts and included in the school’s Snapchat geotag.

Smagula and Barer wrote the petition in the hopes of creating a more inclusive setting for students of all backgrounds. According to Smagula and Barer, it is important that students’ voices are heard. They believe that a petition can show the administration the students’ support better than other forms of awareness. Smagula and Barer state that once the petition meets its goal, the next step is to send it to Headmaster Meyer in hopes of starting the physical removal of all the offensive symbols. Despite SAFRIS being a new club during a pandemic, it is persisting and continuing to fight racial inequalities at the high school.