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What’s a Dreadnaught? Why is Dexter’s mascot a Dreadnaught? Here’s a short dive into the history and significance of how Dexter became ‘the Dreads’
WRITTEN BY SAM BURGOS
WHEN asked about the uniqueness of Dexter’s mascot, DHS athletic director Mike Bavineau said that he took pride in the fact that our mascot is different.
“It’s unique,” he said. “You know, if you’re the Bulldogs or the Devils, a lot of schools have that nickname, so the fact that we have a different kind of nickname is kind of cool.”
Out of all of the school mascots in the U.S, the Dreadnaught is only used in two. Those are Lakeland High School in Florida and Dexter High School.
THERE IS ANOTHER: The only other school in the U.S. that uses the Dreadnaught as their
mascot is in Lakeland, Florida. Lakeland High School is a public school established in 1889.
According to the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics), there are 129,247 high schools (98,755 public, and 30,492 private) in the U.S; the Dreadnaught makes up 0.000015% of all school mascots.
A recent Squall survey of 264 students showed about 80% of the students like our mascot because of its uniqueness.
GO DREADS: The Dreadnaught logo was redesigned in 2013 to
help brand the school has helped us show our rivals who we are
Senior Daniel Delduca – who was aware of the uniqueness of our mascot – mentioned that it was cool that the Dreadnaught is unique. However, the uniqueness of our mascot has led to some confusion.
“When I first moved here I thought [the Dreadnaught] was weird because I didn’t know what it was,” senior Eden Saab said. Although it is a small number, about 4% of the students who were surveyed said they didn’t know what a Dreadnaught was.
According to vocab.com, the Dreadnought or Dreadnaught is a battleship used in World War I and World War II. The name originated from the HMS Dreadnought, which launched in 1906, but the word goes back to the 17th century which was used to describe a brave person or someone who “dreaded naught,” or dreaded nothing.
As reported by a former college news archive, “[Dexter] played an important role in World War I by assembling parts for Dreadnaughts, battleships used during the war by the British and U.S. Navies. Dexter takes great pride in its work in World War I, and to remember the workers’ efforts they named Dexter High School’s mascot the Dreadnaughts.”
History teacher Rob Dubay was aware of the history of the mascot. When asked about the history of the mascot, he mentioned that the fact that Dexter “actually built the parts for the battleships” was cool.
Due to the fact that the Dreadnaught is a battleship that belongs at sea has made nautical themes predominate throughout Dexter Community Schools.
The nautical themes such as Iron Dread, Rising Tide, and the helm (Champion learning wheel), are used all throughout Dexter Community Schools and help “promote the school” Bavineau said.
Even though other schools with mascots like the Pirates or Lakers offer the opportunity to use nautical themes, Dexter has the unique mascot as well which sets it apart from schools.
The Dreadnaught logo, according to Bavineau, “has brought us together,” and the students and alumni of Dexter High School seem to agree.
DREAD STRONG: Iron Dread strength and conditioning was established by coach Chris Whittaker in 2017
to strengthen students and athletes. The program’s name is based on the school mascot, the Dreadnaught.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER: The logo based off of the motto used by the DHS staff
(develop, educate, inspire) was turned into this logo, called “The Helm,” within the last 5 years.
SET THE STANDARD: The motto made out of acronyms used by the DHS athletic staff helps set the
standard for what is expected out of our athletes. The motto was created within the last 3 years.
