Robert Neithart, Asst. News Editor—
An initiative to create an official mascot for the Denison community is the latest in many endeavors which have been undertaken by the Denison Campus Governance Association in recent weeks.
Initially proposed at a DCGA retreat hosted earlier in the semester as a mock example of policy development, the push for an official school mascot has become a prominent long-term initiative for DCGA, largely spearheaded by policy chair Maddie Murphy ‘23 and first-year senator Ashwin Krishnamurthy.
Murphy explained that this wasn’t the first initiative to create an official school mascot in the history of Denison, citing efforts throughout the nineties and two-thousands wherein DCGA, The Denisonian, and other clubs sought to create an official mascot to supplement the ambiguous ‘Big Red.’
In the result of a Columbus newspaper article in the early 20th century, ‘Big Red’ became the unofficial mascot of Denison on account of an unusually tall basketball team that sported bright red jerseys, garnering the nickname of ‘Big Red,’ which has evidently stuck.
In subsequent years, ‘Big Red’ would be personified into a characterized depiction of a Native American, a reality that Murphy explained DCGA is wholly conscious of and sensitive to, saying that they wish to move past the bad history and misrepresentation of native culture and instead create something that honors and celebrates Denison students.
When asked what sorts of questions she and her fellow members are considering in creating an official mascot, Murphy said, “It will hopefully include all people who have a stake in and care about this school [including] all the current students… stakeholders, our alumni base, our families, and… the administration.” Going on to say that a mascot should reflect our school values and be something we are proud to cheer twenty years on.
Murphy explained that the effort to create an official mascot will involve student feedback, saying that a pulse survey will be sent to the student body inquiring about the sorts of values and ideas that should be reflected in a mascot.
Because this effort will involve all facets of the Denison community, including alumni and the administration, it is important to set expectations concerning the timeframe of events, with Krishnamurthy saying, “hopefully, we can do it by the end of the school year… that’s a goal.”
Although the effort to create an official school mascot is currently in its early stages, students should keep an eye out for new information and surveys concerning the initiative.