Franklin School shows spirit for football event

By Matt Neznanski
Gazette-Times reporter

It takes a bit of effort to stitch two halves of different hats together, but for Franklin School Principal Gerry Kosanovic, it’s all part of being a Ducks fan in Beaver country.

On Wednesday, Kosanovic suspended the school’s policy banning hats and encouraged students to show their colors for Saturday’s Civil War football game.

“Usually, we’d do this kind of thing on a Friday, but with this year’s crazy schedule, it ends up right before the Thanksgiving weekend and with so much at stake,” he said.

Kosanovic said the rivalry gave the school a chance to talk about what it means to be civil.

“We tell them to try and say nothing negative about the other team and everything positive about our team,” he said. “We want to be civil during the Civil War.”

AnnMarie Haberman, 7, got the point.

“We learned to be organized and flexible,” she said. “Don’t say anything bad about the other team.”

Haberman admitted to liking both teams, but planned to root for the Beavers come Saturday.

The lunchroom was awash in Beaver orange, enough that Paris Melick, 10, stood out in her green Oregon hat.

“It’s tough,” she said. “My mom lives in Eugene, so as long as I’m in Eugene, it’s fine.”

She has allies in high places at school, though. Kosanovic represents for Oregon every day in his green- and gold-painted office.

“No one has refused to sit with me in there,” he said. “I hear about it, though.”

Franklin Leonard, 8, Kelton Orth, 8, and Seamus Hennessy, 9, were decked out in Oregon State gear. They made a snap decision over who would emerge victorious this weekend: the Beavers.

Hennessy had a simple explanation for why so many of his classmates agreed:

“It’s Corvallis,” he said.