"The Big Green What?"
That was the rhetorical question of four varsity athletes who appeared before the Alumni Council's Committee on Athletics last May. What Dartmouth needs, the students argued, is a new symbol to boost school spirit and "create a demand for all kinds of mascot oriented merchandise."
It has been 23 years since the College had a living, merchandise- hawking mascot. The Indian rose from the typewriter of the Boston Herald's Bill Cunningham '19 in 1922, appeared on football uniforms in 1928, and in 1972 was banished by the Trustees (who, if you want to get picky about it, had never approved the mascot in the first place).
The Alumni Council committee responded enthusiastically to the notion of a replacement. But, asked one member, exactly what symbol did the students have in mind? The athletes did not have an answer ready justyet. We asked around on campus and tallied a dozen suggestions. Feel free to send us your own.
SYMBOL PROS CONS The Moose Has inside track at the moment. Good north- woods theme, removes argument over whether mascot should be singular or plural. Ungainly deer susceptible to brain worm. Only one resemblance to students, says a letter in The D: moose and undergrads both jaywalk, assuming cars will stop. The Mountaineers Outdoors theme free of ethnic implications. Already taken by West Virginia. The Peregrine Falcons Nest at the Dartmouth Skiway, good athletes, smail-but-there-are-those- who-love-them qualities. Cousins filling mascot slots at Atlanta and the Air Force Academy. The Timberwolves Cooperative, voices-crying- in-the-wilderness crea- tures undergoing an image remake. Mascot frontrunner in the seventies, lost ground as pack instincts became less fashionable on campus. The Old Pines Accessorize well on hel- mets, T-shirts, earrings. Ageist. Also violates rule established by Tom Lord '74 that a new mascot should have two eyes (and not be a potato). The Lorax Outdoorsy. Invented by kid-book god Theodor Seuss Geisel '25. Disagreeable and foul- smelling; looks dated in the neoprene nineties. The North Winds Good Vox Clamantis char- acteristics. Could inspire derogatory flatulence in the visiting stands. Also violates Tom Lord Two-Eyes Rule. The Lawyers Would boost intellectual- ism of sporting events by getting opponents to quote Shakespeare. No comment until copy isreviewed by College attor-neys. The North Faces® Corporate sponsorship! Lots of Dartmouth grads in quality outdoor-gear company. Who wants a mascot made out of Gore-Tex? The Blitz Insiderish moniker (BlitzMail is the campus e- mail system). Unavoidably recalls German tank officers. The Flakes Northern and alternative- lifestyle connotations. Not a snowball's chance of getting accepted. The Asquamshumauke Abenaki for "mist rising from waters" used to be name for Baker River flow- ing past Moosilauke. Could appeal to Indian Symbol mourners among alumni. The river was renamed for a successful Indian fighter. Lacks eyes.
