From The Dumbass Schools Department:

A medieval knight bearing a crucifix is apparently too offensive for Muslims and others in charge of a Vermont high school, as campus officials try to find a better mascot than the Crusaders for Champlain Valley Union High.

"I believe [the controversy] came from a T-shirt that had a religious symbol on it," Alex Anderson of the CVU's mascot committee told WCAX-TV in Burlington. "Some students thought that was offensive. We're a public school and we're trying to maintain separation of church and state."

How about a little more?

Other schools have done the same.

Wheaton College, the evangelical school in Illinois, was the Crusaders for 70 years but dropped the name in 2000.

Writing to the college community about the decision, President Duane Litfin said, "We are hard-pressed to find anything in these disastrous waves of fighting that our Lord might have approved, despite the fact that the conflict was ostensibly carried out in his name."

More? (From the Seattle Times via WND)

One high school — 44 valedictorians

This year's 406-member graduating class at Garfield High School features 44 valedictorians. Forty-four students with perfect 4.0 grade-point averages who, over seven semesters of mostly honors and Advanced Placement classes, have never earned less than an A.

Even for a school with a reputation as an academic powerhouse, it's a record number: Last year Garfield had 30 valedictorians; the year before, 27.

Skeptics say that so many students with perfect 4.0 GPAs is evidence of grade inflation; admirers say it's the product of smart, hard-working students at a school that encourages academic success.

Either way, the multiple valedictorians at Garfield are reflective of a national trend of rewarding a number of high-achieving students at graduation rather than singling out one.

And nationally, Garfield may be just mid-range. Bullard High School in Fresno, Calif., is graduating 58 valedictorians this year.

"I don't think we're giving away the grades," said Carolyn Barge, Garfield's senior counselor. "These kids are taking every AP and honors class they can get their hands on. They take six classes every semester. They're just amazing kids."

Traditionally the highest-performing student, the valedictorian gives the final address at graduation. But the increasing number of straight-A students has led some schools to abandon the award altogether.