GW dropping Colonials nickname
- Thread starter Eight Legger
- Start date
Okay, that's dumb. It's not glorifying colonialism in general...it's about Washington and the Continental Army and the founding of our country.
My daughter did a college tour of GW last Friday and this was vaguely mentioned on the tour .. apparently Hippos is one alternative considered since there is a hippo statue on campus.
GW should at least have enough class to give the animal its full name of hippopotamus or since there is more than one, hippopotami in Latin or hippopotamuses for English usage. However don't see how that dignifies the name of George Washington..
detailed article without a paywall.
“A moniker must unify our community, draw people together and serve as a source of pride. We look forward to the next steps in an inclusive process to identify a moniker that fulfills this aspiration.”
“Today, the moniker no longer does the work that a moniker should—namely, unifying the campus behind our academic and athletic institutional aspirations.”
so yeah, let's go with Hippos.
“A moniker must unify our community, draw people together and serve as a source of pride. We look forward to the next steps in an inclusive process to identify a moniker that fulfills this aspiration.”
“Today, the moniker no longer does the work that a moniker should—namely, unifying the campus behind our academic and athletic institutional aspirations.”
so yeah, let's go with Hippos.
Personally I'm partial to "The GW Sports Teams."
Well at least they’re sticking w George Washington...for now.
The GW "Didn't Get Into Georgetowns."
Would that make another nearby school the Masons?
Also the Georges. We have like 3 Rams already, why not multiple Georges?
In my mind, we have the red rams, the blue rams, and…
the black sheep of the A-10…
I’d be curious how the womens sports teams will take to being called Hippos….
But if you’re changing it, Swamp Monsters has to be the leading candidate if you’re looking for historically accurate to the location.
the killer is not having another name lined up. you’d think by now the folks running the naming commission racket would have a business model with an advertising firm to sell a new name and logo. Either way, I’m sure that GW could use Hardt to help them out. Get them a real meat & potatoes name. Pay a search firm $1M to come up with Hawkeyes.
But if you’re changing it, Swamp Monsters has to be the leading candidate if you’re looking for historically accurate to the location.
the killer is not having another name lined up. you’d think by now the folks running the naming commission racket would have a business model with an advertising firm to sell a new name and logo. Either way, I’m sure that GW could use Hardt to help them out. Get them a real meat & potatoes name. Pay a search firm $1M to come up with Hawkeyes.
They should go w the Monikers. The George Washington Monikers.
The George Washington Colonials......they have a problem with the Colonials part of that name?? Washington had 314 slaves at Mount Vernon the day he died.
These are Shitty times we are living in. What is racist or insensitive about the birth of our country?
I guess it's time to change the old saying from my youth "Sticks and stones can break your bones but words will KILL you."
These are Shitty times we are living in. What is racist or insensitive about the birth of our country?
I guess it's time to change the old saying from my youth "Sticks and stones can break your bones but words will KILL you."
If you colonize empty land tat's cool but that names honors people who "colonized" land held for thousands of years by the First Nations
Nature of humans since out of the cave. Have a problem with human nature? Folks move. Feel the same about 3 million a year "migrating" to your country?
This type of thinking questions credibility, logic, and a basic foundation in human history.
Go Colonials!
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See this pattern society-wide so often right now: outrage over some issue, (usually something few even cared about or took notice of until 5 min ago) destroy with no clear plan on what the next step is, pat self on the back for having done something.
Idiotic. Whatever they come up with somebody somewhere will have a problem with it. Then what? Cherry pickers.
cherry blossoms are inoffensive. they may have to get rid of "George" someday. that argument is coming.
Native Americans, Pacific islanders, First nations. You know, people who bravely went into land that had no people living in it and moved there, as opposed to people who came to inhabited land, killed 90% of the natives, an hen said they had "discovered" and "civilized" it.
I'm no history buff, but even I know earlier American civilizations like the Aztecs and Incans were quite happy to kill people to expand their territory.
Every civilization has enormous flaws, but we can still celebrate their achievements.
Same with animal names. Teams that name themselves tigers aren't doing so to celebrate lions killing lioness' cubs from a different lion so they can mate with her. Well, ... I hope not anyway.
With our name, I'm pretty sure we are celebrating what spiders do to kill their prey, which is hardly more civil than what any colonialist did. A web is spun for the purpose of killing another for the benefit of oneself.
What makes it a bit more odd is...
Isn't GWU named "Colonials" after the Colonial Army? The army from the colony to fight against being a colony?
How does that promote Colonialism? Although explaining that on a Tee Shirt would be rather difficult...
I think they said they are trying to avoid the negative meaning of "Colonials" even though their version was reflective of a different version. Probably a bit of a reach.
Supposedly it was a problem for study abroad students wearing their Colonials gear out and about. I don't know that that was the main driver though, and while I can see the potential issue there, they could also just wear other GW gear without the nickname.
Yeah. You're right. Western Civilization should have left the Americas as a Jurassic Park forever.
Most First People died from disease they had never been exposed to and science was ignorant of at the time, not from white folks brutally smacking down indigenous folks.
Maybe it is your narrative, but it is not supported by the facts.
I guess the GW British Ass Kickers is out of the question.
Didit they have a Brit on the basketball team within the past few years? Don't want his little brother or sister not to come and play for the Colonials, Hippos, or insert new name here. Maybe they could name themselves the Non-Offenders? Then they could just forfeit every game while they bask in feeling great about themselves.................
Also, I'm sure folks realize that "Native Americans" were not a homogenous group who peacefully coexisted for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans.
There is a great book on this, 1491 by Charles C. Mann if anybody is interested. Really helped me to understand the history of the “new world” from an unbiased source that doesn’t try to make claims to advance politics or talking points. Great read but it is about 600+ Pages (I started it after our VCU loss when I thought all was lost)
Good book. Basic thrust is as in Post 32 in this thread:
"Mann argues that diseases played a far greater role in thinning out the Native American population than previously believed. This smaller population was more susceptible to attack from European nations."
The VCU'er, WestEndEd, has a narrative unsupported by the facts.
Pick your favorite new nickname!
Ambassadors, Blue Fog, Catalysts, Fireworks, Independents, Monumentals, Revolutionaries, Sentinels, Squad, or Truth
gwtoday.gwu.edu
Ambassadors, Blue Fog, Catalysts, Fireworks, Independents, Monumentals, Revolutionaries, Sentinels, Squad, or Truth
GW Announces 10 Moniker Options for Community Feedback | GW Today | The George Washington University
The process now moves into its next phase by launching “Moniker Madness,” a series of engagement activities that will help identify the options that resonate with the community.
