What the Hell is a Snoho?

It appears Snohomish High School has been suffering a bit under the weight of its name recently. Specifically, a few students' attachement to the abbreviated term "Snohos" is stirring things up. School administrators are concerned that the term is a reference to Snohomish hos, and that its use could damage the hos' fragile self image.

From the Everett Herald:

"There's a real difference between the word 'Snoho' and the word 'Snohos,'" [principal Diana] Plumis said. "I can't see our boys football team wearing a shirt that said 'We are Snohos,' can you? ... It's a pejorative reference to women. And I don't want our name to be used to rank on our girls."

Seattlest unfortunately isn't privy to the interior minds of Snohomish High School students, but, having once been high school students ourselves it's hard to imagine anyone actually enrolled in classes being offended by the term "snohos" (or that there's any difference between "snoho" and "snohos"). Whether or not the students' use of the word is a conscientious play on the slang "ho", the whole thing seems pretty inoccuous. Of course, that won't stop the archetypal enemies of student and administrator from locking horns over the issue.

Trouble began a few years ago when a group of students filmed what sounds like a Jackass-ian video and titled the master work "Snohos". The school's dance squad was also previously banned from wearing shirts that said "Snoho" on the front and "mish" on the back. The issue has ignited most recently as one student fights a previous suspension for wearing a "snohos" tee shirt. The student is set to graduate in a few months after which he will, Seattlest assumes, take his fight to Snohomish College. Expect the term to make an appearance in the Snohomish High School Handbook soon.