On Thursday, the Brighton Central School District announced its mascot will no longer be the Brighton Barons in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a letter to families, the superintendent said, “The Baron is a symbol of elitism and privilege at best and can be historically traced to slavery.”

Sophia Falvo is entering her junior year at Brighton High School, and is a student-athlete. She opposes the change.

“It is something they brought up last year, but then it kind of faded away," Falvo said. "So I feel like they’re doing it for a reaction, or saying, 'We stand with you,' but I don’t think is the right way to do it.”

Meanwhile, Airy Hall — who will be entering the high school as a freshman this fall — supports it.

“There has been some racism about, like, how our school goes and how they act," Hall said. "And I feel like there could be a change, and something could maybe change about the racism.”

Noah Shinaman and Andrew Zibuck both graduated from Brighton in 2018, and played football for the high school.

Shinaman says it’s time for a change, though what the mascot will be changed to hasn’t been decided yet.

“Once a Baron, always a Baron, and I’ll always remember the Junior Barons from football," Shinaman said. "I’m just excited to see what the new mascot will be; I’m just not sure what they’ll change it to.”

And though Zibuck never interpreted the mascot as racist himself, he’s glad to see his school being so proactive amidst the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I think it’s cool, a Baron, it’ll always be a part of my heart, but having the name changed, it’s cool, it’s pretty cool,” Zibuck said.

The district announced the change as part of a slate of anti-racist actions it is taking, including diversifying hiring, and adding anti-bias teaching to the curriculum.