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Catholic College Will Keep 'Crusader' Moniker, Mascot

WORCESTER (AP) — Officials at a Roman Catholic college in Massachusetts have decided the school will continue to be known as the Crusaders.

The board of trustees at Holy Cross in Worcester affirmed the name Saturday after months of discussion about the appropriateness of the medieval knight as the college's moniker and mascot.

In an email to the college community, Holy Cross' president, the Rev. Philip Boroughs, and board chair John J. Mahoney say the college is choosing to associate itself with the modern meaning of the word crusader "which is representative of our Catholic, Jesuit identity and our mission and values as an institution."

The student newspaper announced Friday it would ditch "The Crusader" name and become "The Spire." The staff says the change is because of the "violence and massacres" of the medieval Crusades.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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