We Need One Mascot

I grew up in the suburbs of Northern Virginia and Ohio, and my vision for high school athletics was nothing less than Friday Night Lights, raging student sections, and star athletes. However, when I moved to New York City before middle school, it quickly became clear that my experience would be starkly different. To me, that was a shame. So over the past few years, with the help of friends and administration, I have focused on enhancing the sports culture at Stuyvesant through institutions like the @stuysports Instagram account, themed football games, and the now-annual sports banquet, all of which have created more unity not just for student-athletes, but for the student body as a whole. However, there remains one broad hindrance to our school unity: the lack of a single mascot for all teams.

First, let me dispel the false perception that the mascot has to be the Peglegs. Though the “Pegleg” mascot has decades of history with the school, it would be decided democratically if Stuyvesant were to mandate a uniform mascot. “Students would submit potential names and then we could vote on them,” Assistant Principal of Safety and Security Brian Moran said. There would be a formal but simple process of mascot nomination, and then votes would be cast by students and potentially faculty and alumni. We may have a logo design competition, open to all students. Thus the question of mascot unity and the name itself are two different issues altogether, and having one mascot does not mean it must be the ancient Peglegs.

Though the positive product of several mascots is, perhaps, the ability of a team to change their mascot as desired and identify more locally, these reasons fall short when analyzed writ large. Boys’ varsity basketball transitioned from the Runnin’ Rebels to the Storm last winter and girls’ handball hopes to become the Red Pandas, but such mascot changes are rare. Further, with no fault to teams for taking advantage of this customization opportunity, this so-called benefit only contributes to a culture that prioritizes individuality over unity and fails to acknowledge the long-term. “Having one mascot would unify all of the sports so that everybody can rally around one mascot. It would reunite many generations of school spirit—not only current and future,” Stuyvesant alum Jeffrey Kwan (‘95) said.

Last year, Assistant Principal of Physical Education Peter Bologna and I made significant strides toward uniting the mascot, but were unsuccessful because some administration feared a negative response. However, the issue was brought to my mind again in an interview for a college scholarship for which I had mentioned in an application essay that each team at my school has their own mascot. The first question that a panelist (a professor) asked me was, “Tell me, why would any school want to have multiple mascots?” He was joking, but the irony implied in his question is merited. The rest of the panel found the concept of our many names to be foreign as well, which is a fair response as I cannot find a single school in the country other than Stuyvesant with separate mascots for each team.

In part, we can blame New York City—features such as the lack of a standard playing field, high school application process, and diversity of backgrounds all contribute to a weak public-school sports culture in the city as a whole. I recently visited my old neighborhood in Toledo, Ohio, and attended a white-out football game at the high school I would have attended had I stayed there. Their mascot is the Eagles, and it would only take a minute for anyone present to realize that. The bleachers were filled with students, parents, and faculty chanting the “Eagle Rumble,” bonded behind the mascot that they all had a personal connection to. All decked out in white, spectators had posters with individual players’ names and numbers. It was the only place to be on a Friday night, and the unity was palpable and energizing. And in truth, that’s thanks to a midwestern sports culture, which a Friday evening at Randall’s Island can’t even attempt to rival.

Yet Stuyvesant’s mascot issue is unique. Understandably, it has become the norm after decades of such nomenclature, but in fact, there isn’t a continuing benefit to such variety. “It doesn’t make sense. It is confusing when you are going to a game with all of these different names,” senior Raymond Wang said. Most high schools across the country and the globe have a rich culture of students, faculty, and communities rallied behind one mascot. These mascots are personified with pride—my dad was the mascot for his high school and would wear the hot, heavy costume on game days, dance with the cheerleaders, and lead chants. He loved the opportunity created by the one mascot, as a focal point that anchors a school’s identity. “We need to have one mascot—it makes such a difference. It would help school unity, it would give us an identity,” Physical Education teacher Rebecca Morel said. Without one name, color, figure, or logo to band us together, Stuyvesant’s sports are individualized and the lack of school spirit naturally follows.

We currently have the Stuyvesant Greyducks, Phoenix, Vipers, Birdies, Panthers, Huskies, Mimbas, Renegades, Penguins, Lady Lobsters, Vixens, Storm, Spartans, Tigers, Cobras, Eagles, Lemurs, Dragons, Pirates, Hitmen, Beasts, Runnin’ Rebels, and, of course, Peglegs. “I respect the attempt at individuality, but sports generally are trying to accomplish the opposite—to bring people together. To unify not only the players on one team, and not only all of the teams in one school, but all of the students at that school. Having multiple mascots and multiple color schemes works against that effort,” boys’ basketball coach Charles Sewell said. The coaches of Stuyvesant overwhelmingly agree that we need one mascot to rescue Stuyvesant’s sports culture.

Additionally, some of these “mascots” are nonexistent or problematic in themselves. The girls’ varsity volleyball mascot, “Vixen” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a female fox; a shrewish, ill-tempered woman; a sexually attractive woman.” “Mimba,” the girls’ soccer mascot, is not an English word, but in the Bantu language of Malawi and southern Africa it means “pregnancy.” “I don’t like my mascot, and looking at all of the different mascots, none of them are great. So, why have different mascots?” girls’ soccer captain Gigi Bryce said. Some teams have players who don’t know their mascot. Stuyvesant has a nearly unparalleled number of sports teams, all of which deserve a mascot that is a source of pride and unity.

There are other negative effects of Stuyvesant’s mascot diversity that go surprisingly unrecognized. The school forfeits the opportunity for merchandise sales, fundraising, and sponsorships that would come with a one-name Stuyvesant sports brand. “We need one logo, one mascot, and everyone can wear the merchandise. We could put it on the future Phys Ed uniform. It needs to be uniform, I don’t care what it is,” Physical Education teacher and coach of boys’ soccer, girls’ basketball, and softball Vincent Miller said. We need a logo to put on the gym floor and on every jersey. Most high schools have branded products that represent every branch of athletics at the school, and can be bought and worn by athletes and non-athletes alike. As far as I am aware, there is no way to get Stuyvesant sports merch beyond what one may get from the team(s) they play for. While some teams have alumni networks for fundraising and events, each team is separate. The result is 43 insulated groups that are unable to collaborate or form any collective identity, and a subsequent loss of community. 

A single mascot would benefit the broad range of sports at our school, especially the lesser-known teams. Further, a name could extend to non-athletic teams such as robotics, speech, debate, model UN, chess, and all who represent Stuyvesant in competition, as well as any other Stuyvesant clubs, organizations, and associations. Our school’s diversity of talent is special, and we can best embrace our variety of interests and backgrounds by coming together under one name. Take a look at any other high school’s sports Instagram account, and the oneness will inspire you (see Hunter’s @athleticassociation for an NYC example). “It starts with a name, and it extends to the entire school,” boys’ soccer captain Kaeden Ruparel said. I know that Stuyvesant prides itself on preparing students for long-term success, and I feel personally proud and grateful to have reaped the benefits of such a future-focused institution. Thus, we ought to set up the school for long-term success by coming together with one name, and we ought to do it now.