Mira Mesa Living

By: Thomas Sholan, Mira Mesa High School

For many years members of the Marauder family have believed the fallacy that the Mira Mesa High School mascot was named after the US Air Force Martin B-26 Marauder. According to legend the American World War II bomber spent time at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, which was home to the Top Gun flight school, making it a perfect icon to use as Mira Mesa’s mascot.

Despite this widely accepted story, the truth about the origin of the marauder was not uncovered until recently. A Mira Mesa alumnus contacted the school and brought the truth to light. Despite this information Principal Giusti needed evidence before the school could present this story as fact and he charged The Marquee with collecting that evidence.

Former student Robert Hess and six others suggested the name Marauder in a contest to name the mascot of the new school in 1976. His friend Joanne Cachapero drew a sketch of a “mean looking hombre on horseback with weapons in each hand” and Hess believes that convinced students to vote for the name Marauder.

Supporting Hess’ claim Mr. Russell Newell, an aircraft historian and math teacher here at Mira Mesa added, “I find no record of (B-26 Marauders) ever being at Miramar and it is unlikely they were ever there, but I can’t say it’s impossible. If they were, nobody would have noticed or cared as they were junk.”

The tale of the Marauder bomber may have begun as a rumor, however, over time and with few remaining members of the original student body or staff to dispute the tale, it soon became regarded as fact.

During the course of the 1976 contest a board of students and faculty reviewed the entries and selected the one they believed to be the most original, creative and appropriate entry from each age category. The final selection was based on the top selection from each category. Winners received a complimentary yearbook or free passes to all sporting events if they did not attend the school. According to Mira Mesa alumnus Rick Bellows, “Tthere were, I think, three or four choices including the Jaguars and the Marauders.   I don’t think most of us knew what a marauder was, but we liked the drawing I guess.”

Contrary to popular student belief, a Marauder is not a “Mexican rapist.” The etymology of a Marauder actually dates back to medieval France and refers to someone who pillages and plunders, not rapes. The term was popularized during the Thirty Years War. Many alumni believe the term “Mexican rapist,” stemmed from the students desire to make the mascot even more menacing and intimidating.

Bellows added, “The students originally voted for the mascot, and being a bunch of 70s kids, we would have voted for Kiss, Alice Cooper, or Van Halen if we could. The ‘gangster’ image hadn’t yet evolved, and this was the closest thing to it that was presented to us. Frankly, it’s possibly racist, and definitely a stereotype.”

This presented a dilemma in the near future for Mira Mesa. According to Mira Mesa Computer Applications teacher and webmaster Tom Zois, “What happened in the late 80’s here at MMHS, and across the country, is that the political correctness of having a masked raping pillager called a Marauder as a mascot was called into question. During this time many colleges and pro sports teams were confronted and protested by groups that were offended by certain mascots. For example, the Washington Redskins was offensive to many Native American Indians. The San Diego State Aztecs felt pressure from certain Latino groups.”

However, if the mascot had been tweaked to represent the true definition of a Marauder then a major overhaul, altering, or cover up would have been unnecessary. 

It was during this tumultuous time of political correctness across the country that the origins of the Mira Mesa mascot were altered. Mr. Zois added, “Some zealous faculty members, now retired, began a movement to change the story of the Marauder and clean up its image. This is where the airplane story came from; a story, which is totally bogus.”

In recent years Mira Mesa has moved away from the image of the Marauder altogether and progressed toward the large M with the name Marauders through it. However, Giusti wants to move the school back towards a mascot that represents more creativity, school spirit and something that could possibly have a mascot suit based on it.

With Hess’ claim now verified, Mira Mesa can remember the true history of the school and move forward by creating a new Marauder Man based on the true definition of the mascot.