Last summer, Lane students called for the removal of the Indian symbol with a petition circulated on social media. This most recent call to change the name echoes past arguments by students and stakeholders that the name “Indians” is offensive and causes harm to the Native American population at Lane. In August, Lane officially removed the Indian symbol from the 112-year-old school. The Lane LSC put out a statement on Facebook stating the process they took prior to voting yes to removing the Native American symbol from the name —  and quoting CPS’ equity policy: “In the Equity Framework, part of how we define equity is as “championing the individual cultures, identities . . . of each student . . . to meet their unique needs and aspirations.”  

We list these events to preface our decision to change the name of this publication. 

As an editorial board, we realized that “The Warrior” could be understood as a coded reference to “Indian.” We never want the name of our publication to cause any discomfort or pain to anyone in the school. We are a publication that thrives on the community built in the halls of Lane Tech. Not changing our name would ignore the meaning of the word and possibly create a rift between the publication and the Lane community. Changing the name is simply the right thing to do. 

We are now  “The Lane Tech Champion.”

The name and image of a newspaper are what make it so well-known — and of course the stories and the reporting that the staff does. We want to make sure we settled on a name that evoked the qualities we hold most dear: honesty and thorough reporting. 

We used the Oxford English Dictionary to investigate the history of the word “champion” and felt connected to two  definitions: “One who fights on behalf of another, or on behalf of any cause,” and “To maintain the cause of, stand up for, uphold, support, back, defend, advocate.” 

Together they define what we want to be reflected in our new name. Having “The Champion” as our new name is fitting because as a staff and publication, we fight to report the truth and write stories that are relevant and provide answers and information to our readers.

Not only does our new name represent us as a publication but we feel that it fits perfectly for the community in and out of Lane. 

Lane Tech is known around the city as “The School of Champions.” The name is so fitting for a school with a positive reputation around the city not only for its academics and athletics but also for the community. 

This past year we saw numerous events of student activism — students being champions for causes they are passionate about. Many were held on our campus. In the Black Lives Matter protest on Oct. 20, on campus, Lane students demonstrated their anger towards racist actions by Lane students. There was also student activism in response to the infamous advisory lesson on racism and the administration made efforts to create a new way to teach students anti-racism.

In addition, Lane students protested to pressure the LSC to remove SROs from the building, and the removal of SROs happened shortly after the protest. 

Last summer, the efforts of Lane students didn’t go unheard; they were champions for the above causes, and in a way to honor their efforts, “The Champion” was the obvious choice. 

For 50 years, we have been known as “The Warrior,” and so changing our name is a monumental step and one that deserved to be announced in a big way. With the new name comes a new flag, new logo, new social media handles, and a special issue. 

Even though our name is changing, the quality of our news will remain the same. We will continue being champions for the First Amendment and journalism and we hope that Lane continues to be champions around the city and in our halls.