2008 Woodie Awards
The Ranger a tradition, a Bear only a fad
Jon Miller
Issue date:
1/29/08
Section:
Opinion
I will admit I was among those 200 or so students last year that thought it would be a great idea to change Olympic College's mascot.
Like many students, I figured why not? The only logo we had at the time was three wavy lines. Certainly if we changed from the ambiguous Rangers to an angry looking Black Bear (shorten to just Bear lest we offend the sensitive Kodiak or Brown bears) we might muster up some more school spirit.
Of course, there is a few harsh realities that many of us disregarded last year when casting our ballots.
To begin with, most OC students do not attend sports events or other campus activities, and they don't cite the lack of an inspiring mascot as their reason. Students are either busy or don't care.
Second, most students are here for a very short period of time. After all, this is a two-year college; not many of us are sticking it out for a lifetime here.
Finally, OC sports teams are not division winning, let alone league winning teams. The only exception to this is the men's golf team, and they don't wear uniforms.
So why bother changing the mascot and throwing away over half a century worth of tradition? I have yet to hear an answer that holds any weight.
The most common answer to this question is no one knew what the Ranger looked like or why we were the Ranger.
I have a big problem with that reasoning. In professional and college sports across the country there are many examples of mascots and nicknames that are hard to picture and even harder to understand.
For example, what's a steeler, or a packer? How about a hoagie? Well no one at Virginia Tech University is talking about mascot changes.
And you know why? One word: tradition.
Rangers have a history at OC. When the school opened it was best known for its forestry program. For 60 years the Ranger has remained a symbol of our heritage and thousands of previous Rangers still proudly hold that as their mascot.
The bear has nothing to do with OC. We have no history that relates to bears, we don't even have bears near our main campus. So even if you were to change the mascot, why would you ever pick a bear?
Admittedly, it was selfish of me to vote in favor of changing the mascot. I am guilty of agreeing to throw away our heritage and following a stupid fad.
I am proud to be a Ranger, because the Ranger is OC. It needs no explanation, no cute cartoon graphic. If you want cartoon pictures on your clothes, shop at the Disney Store.
Lucky for us, some people are stepping up and trying to stop this outrageous destruction of history. Bob Summers, an OC alumnus, is gaining support for stopping the change before the new mascot is officially released to the public this spring.
Thank you Bob, for trying to keep the campus bear free.
Like many students, I figured why not? The only logo we had at the time was three wavy lines. Certainly if we changed from the ambiguous Rangers to an angry looking Black Bear (shorten to just Bear lest we offend the sensitive Kodiak or Brown bears) we might muster up some more school spirit.
Of course, there is a few harsh realities that many of us disregarded last year when casting our ballots.
To begin with, most OC students do not attend sports events or other campus activities, and they don't cite the lack of an inspiring mascot as their reason. Students are either busy or don't care.
Second, most students are here for a very short period of time. After all, this is a two-year college; not many of us are sticking it out for a lifetime here.
Finally, OC sports teams are not division winning, let alone league winning teams. The only exception to this is the men's golf team, and they don't wear uniforms.
So why bother changing the mascot and throwing away over half a century worth of tradition? I have yet to hear an answer that holds any weight.
The most common answer to this question is no one knew what the Ranger looked like or why we were the Ranger.
I have a big problem with that reasoning. In professional and college sports across the country there are many examples of mascots and nicknames that are hard to picture and even harder to understand.
For example, what's a steeler, or a packer? How about a hoagie? Well no one at Virginia Tech University is talking about mascot changes.
And you know why? One word: tradition.
Rangers have a history at OC. When the school opened it was best known for its forestry program. For 60 years the Ranger has remained a symbol of our heritage and thousands of previous Rangers still proudly hold that as their mascot.
The bear has nothing to do with OC. We have no history that relates to bears, we don't even have bears near our main campus. So even if you were to change the mascot, why would you ever pick a bear?
Admittedly, it was selfish of me to vote in favor of changing the mascot. I am guilty of agreeing to throw away our heritage and following a stupid fad.
I am proud to be a Ranger, because the Ranger is OC. It needs no explanation, no cute cartoon graphic. If you want cartoon pictures on your clothes, shop at the Disney Store.
Lucky for us, some people are stepping up and trying to stop this outrageous destruction of history. Bob Summers, an OC alumnus, is gaining support for stopping the change before the new mascot is officially released to the public this spring.
Thank you Bob, for trying to keep the campus bear free.
Be the first to comment on this story