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vol. 90, no. 27
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Confederate flag once G.N. south symbol
mOVING ON
Alum remembers battle to replace mascot and flag By A dA M L i d g e t t Though Great Neck South High School sits far from the American South, some alumni can still remember when the school’s logo was a symbol one doesn’t often see above the Mason-Dixon line – the Confederate battle flag. After calls to remove the Confederate flag from near the South Carolina State House in Charleston, S.C. in the wake of the killing of nine people at Emanuel AME Church two weeks ago during a Bible study class, many graduates remembered last week when they
Graduation Coverage Great Neck North High school
Pages 2, 32-33, 39
Great Neck south High school
Pages 3, 30-31, 38
Village school
Page 10, 34, 38
helped change the Great Neck South High School Rebels’ symbol from that of a Confederate soldier to a Revolutionary War patriot. In a series of posts to the William A. Shine Great Neck South High School Facebook page, David Gurfein, Class of 1983, said that when South High was opened in 1958, their teams were named the Rebels to differentiate them from Great Neck North High School. Keeping with the “Southern secession” theme, a Confederate soldier and a Confederate battle flag was made their mascot and symbol. Gurfein, captain and quarterback for South High’s football team, said in the posts he wore the Confederate flag himself, seeing it more as a symbol to unify the team and fans, rather than a symbol of racial hatred. “No one, I am aware of, associated any hate with the symbol,” Gurfein wrote in the post. “As a Continued on Page 50
PHOTOS (C)2015 MARTHA GORFEIN/WWW.MGPHOTOCONCEPTS.COM
Students from Great Neck South High School graduated Thursday at LIU Post’s Tilles Center. See story on page 3.
G.N. man remembers Charleston childhood By A dA M L i d g e t t
Rosen— he grew up less than two miles from the historic The killing of nine peo- church in Charleston, S.C.. “I never had any issues at ple at Emanuel AME Church two weeks ago during a Bible all, everyone got along nicely,” study class hit close to home said Rosen, who is president of for Great Neck resident Eric Young Israel of Great Neck and
a member of gthe Great Neck Community Council of Synagogue Presidents. “I went to a high school that was 30-35 percent black. I never once had any problem.” Continued on Page 38
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