Cal State Long Beach Retiring Prospector Pete Mascot
LONG BEACH (CBSLA) — Pete will have to find another place to prospect.
On Thursday Cal State Long Beach announced that the controversial mascot Prospector Pete would be retired.
The school will also move a statue of Prospector Pete from a quad on campus to a new Alumni Center breaking ground spring of 2019.
The "49ers" name will be changed to "1949ers" in reference to the year CSULB was founded.
The university's student group earlier this year voted to support retiring the mascot and moving the statue. The group says Prospector Pete represents an era of genocide against indigenous people during the Gold Rush.
"Inclusive excellence is a core value of the Long Beach State University community," said CSULB President Jane Close Conoley. "Our work in this arena is never done. We want to ensure that we hear from as many people as possible who have a stake not only in the issue at hand, but also in the life and history of our campus. I'm heartened to have heard from so many students, faculty, staff and alumni who are helping learn from past without rancor, but with a commitment to unity and compassion."
The CSULB athletic teams have already been moving away from Prospector Pete and the "49ers," instead using "The Beach" or "The Dirtbags" for the baseball team.
