Which Mascot Did Your College Or Institution Have?

In high school, the author was a Mountaineer for one year, then became a Chieftain, which is no longer the school mascot. In college, they were a Black Bear and the University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz) has the Banana Slug as their official mascot. Mascots represent school spirit, pride, and can be part of the history of the college or university. Some popular mascots include the Stanford Tree, Dartmouth College, and the Statesmen.

College mascots are emblematic of the schools’ identities, histories, and communal spirit. They can have controversial histories, such as Dartmouth College abandoning its unofficial Indian mascot in the 1970s for “the Big Green”. The author shares their high school mascot, the Rebel, a dwarfish figure in a Confederate Army uniform carrying a Confederate flag.

The official mascot is the Statesmen, but in the 1980s, the “Fighting Okra” was suggested as a tougher mascot. The Mountaineer is the school mascot for all sports teams, including women’s teams. Custom designed school mascot costumes have been created over the years.

In high school, the author had two mascots: the Knights and the current college mascot, the Wolfes. SNHU was the Penmen, WGU the Night Owls, and HS the Normans. College was Beavers.

If given one personality trait to describe themselves, it would be Courageous, Social Leader, Simplistic, Mischievous, and Reserved.