George Washington U. Won’t Use ‘Hippos’ as New Moniker
“everything that Colonials wasn’t – it’s divorced from the ugly history of colonialism and racism that marked our use of Colonials”
Amazingly, the student newspaper liked the idea of going with Hippos.
The College Fix reports:
George Washington U. puts kibosh on ‘Hippos’ as replacement for ‘Colonials’
George Washington University officially has put the kibosh on “Hippos” as a replacement for its longtime nickname of “Colonials.”
This past week GWU put out a set of “guiding principles” for the selection of its new “moniker.” Any name must be related to at least one of the following: “Shaping the Future,” “Free to be Bold” and “At the Center of Power.”
The message specifically notes that “Hippos” will not be in the running:
“As a moniker, [“Hippos”] would not align with the guiding principles and received negative feedback during engagement events from various members of the community, including student-athletes who are closely identified with the moniker in competition.”
But the student paper The Hatchet had thought differently. In an October editorial, the paper argued that “unlike Colonials […] Hippos can be a symbol for students to rally around on game days […] It’s a mascot that can trot out at half time without making national news. And most of all, it’s something that can bring every member of the GW community together.”
“Hippos,” the editorial continued, “is everything that Colonials wasn’t – it’s divorced from the ugly history of colonialism and racism that marked our use of Colonials.”
A slight majority (54 percent) of GWU students voted to can the Colonials nickname in 2019 for its “glorifi[cation of] the act of systemic oppression.” An anti-Colonial petition was started in part by a former Hatchet reporter after being told at a study-abroad orientation “not to wear anything with ‘Colonial’ on it outside of Europe.”
The reporter had said “Colonialist, terrorist, murderer. In a lot of places that’s what colonials mean to people. Why would we continue to call ourselves that?”
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Comments
How about “water buffalos?”
You messed your link up. In case there’s anyone who didn’t recognize the reference, see here
“Hippos” (like water buffalos) would probably be taken as an insult by gravitationally challenged people.
I always thought of “hippos”, “whales” and “water buffalos” as being the same as “porkers,” a reference to the huge women I often see in Vegas and on cruise ships. Although some of the huge women are black, the terms apply equally to over-sized women of all races.
The Fighting Polpots.
And this is why I stopped giving to GW.
No one objected to the implied violence associated with their campus newspaper being called The Hatchet?
If they like tribalism so much, why not the GWU Indians?
Why not the “Foggy Bottoms “ ???