Coming to DU this past fall, I believed our school mascot was none other than the renowned, famous Boone. It was only brought to my attention in the past couple of weeks that Boone is our unofficial mascot.

This is discouraging, because I looked at Boone with a sense of pride for my school. Instead, the red-tailed hawk, Ruckus, took his place.

I have come to discover some interesting facts that made me love Boone even more: He was drawn and created by a Walt Disney artist. His costume was created by the DU Theatre Department and a student body contest was used to name him. Boone was created by probably one of the most famous animation companies and further crafted by and for the DU student body.

However, in 1998, Boone was disregarded as the official mascot of the school.

He was believed to be hurtful to the diversity of DU, and certain groups, especially Native American groups, found him disrespectful.

But it would seem that almost any mascot nowadays could be disrespectful to one group or another.

There are plenty of examples of this, but one that strikes my attention is any school that a logger for its mascot, which could be highly offensive to environmental groups.

What is even more concerning to me is that Boone was replaced by a red-tailed hawk. I do not look at the hawk and think “pioneers”; there is a complete disconnect.

We kept the name only to get rid of the symbol.

There is now a movement to bring Boone back. The results of that movement have caused Boone to become our “unofficial” mascot. He is seen far more widely at sporting events and other gatherings than our “official” mascot, though.

There are those who are still loyal to Boone and would like to see him reinstated. One cannot drive through the adjacent neighborhoods around campus without seeing a number of Boone signs and banners.

The logic that is used against Boone, as I understand it, is that he represents the relentless, murderous, western-bound pioneer. Historically, those who travelled west during the time of pioneers and Manifest Destiny often did kick Native Americans off their lands. But I don’t see Boone as one of those people. His drawing is a positive one with a smiling face.

And that is just the negative side of a pioneer.

Pioneers were also people who took chances, risked everything to get a better life, and braved the harsh wilderness of the West.

This is exactly what I think DU Pioneers should be all about.

We should be fearless, willing to take chances, and open to new ideas.

There’s two sides to every story; when we acknowledge Boone as a mascot we recognize his historical past and also his pioneer spirit.

I mean no disrespect to groups that do find Boone hurtful in some way.

From my perspective, it just seems really trivial to me that Boone must be condemned for what he is: a pioneer.

And for me, being a pioneer represents taking a chance, moving forward and showing courage.

As a freshman, the exclusion of Boone seems ludicrous and completely oversensitive.