Image from www.georgiemorley.blogspot.com
Along with the unveiling of the finalists of the IC Mascot Search came the passionate opinions of many of our campus’ students as they weighed in on the choices. The potential mascots were narrowed from the hundreds of entries down to three animals: the phoenix, the lake beast, and the flying squirrel. As soon as the videos were revealed explaining why each of the afore-mentioned creatures could represent our school well, one question crossed everyone’s mind: What does it mean to be a Bomber? Bomber is a name that immediately sparks an ambiguous message of strength and power with no direct image coming to mind. While some students eagerly made Facebook statuses supporting one of the mascot choices, many students voiced their opinions in outrage. For some, it seemed unfathomable that we could portray the spirit of Ithaca College in the form of a phoenix, lake beast, or flying squirrel. Those who were upset about the mascot finalists typically didn’t mind the phoenix too much, but it is the lake beast and flying squirrel that have drawn huge criticism.
Personally, I have to admit that I’m one of the critics. It’s hard to believe that out of over 200 submissions, there weren’t more rational mascots to choose from. And while I know that the College didn’t want to pick a mascot that was the same as, or similar to, another school we are near or frequently play against, it’s a little ridiculous to think that a lake beast was our next best bet. There’s a reason that many schools are the Tigers, Bears, and Eagles, but none are the Flying Squirrels – students want a mascot they can be proud of. Something big and brave that signifies both the brain and brawn that encompasses the respective school’s population. With that said, I don’t think people think of intelligence or athleticism when they think of a flying squirrel or a lake beast. A flying squirrel just seems whimsical, and our competitors and collegiate peers would mock us incessantly if this became our mascot. As one of my guy friends said at lunch recently, “We would literally be swinging the door open for Cortland to tell us to eat their nuts.”
The lake beast just baffles me. Yeah, I get it. We go to school near Cayuga Lake. But how in the world does it seem appealing for us to be the Ithaca College Lake Beasts? A lake beast just gives the impression of an ugly, mean, sloth-like creature. No part of a lake beast represents the amazing school that is IC. On top of how aesthetically unappealing it is, there’s nothing euphonious about the lake beast either. It’s neither cool to look at nor easy to say, and I can’t see how it would easily be incorporated into school chants.
Bomber the Phoenix would be the least of the three evils, however, there are still some issues that myself, and many of my peers, have with this final option. While the phoenix is a good option in theory, it is still running into issues that we were trying to avoid in our new mascot – not imitating another school. Cortland, for example, has a dragon as their mascot. If we were the Phoenixes we’d be a fictitious animal…just like Cortland. Not only that, but we’d also be another fictitious animal dealing with fire, just like Cortland. There’s no point in trying to be original and failing miserably. The only thing worse than being unoriginal in a mundane way is being unoriginal in an overly imaginative way.
If you think about it, adding a mascot only complicates us as Bombers. Why do we have to be “Bomber the Phoenix/Lake Beast/Flying Squirrel”? The Bomber should be the mascot in itself, not something that already exists that we’re attributing a new name to. It would be simpler, and less controversial as well, to just either make a mascot that’s unrelated to an existing animal, or just leave IC as a mascot-free school. Personally, the ambiguity of not having a face to our name is kind of cool. None of the mascot choices are too enticing, and none of them embody our school’s atmosphere truly as they’re a combination of fictitious and/or whimsical creations.
What is so wrong with not having a mascot? This is Ithaca College here, and we’re known for being a laid-back school with a great campus environment. As a school, we are young, free, and ready to change the world. We are the Ithaca College Bombers, and we’re ready to take the world by storm – whether we have a mascot or not.