Since 1998, DU has been without an official mascot. We are still known as the Pioneers, but we have been without an official face of DU since the University got rid of the beloved Denver Boone years ago.
Many might feel that due to the lack of mascot, the school is lacking in spirit, but there have been so many reasons to not think that. Our school is just as, or even more, united or spirited as most of the other universities out there, regardless of whether or not they have a mascot.
While having a mascot is important, it isn’t mandatory to raise school spirit because there is definitely no lack of DU pride. Take one step into any of the sporting events and the love for this school is blatantly obvious. From the fight song to the cheerleaders to the vast amount of DU apparel, nobody could think otherwise. Our sporting events are packed, no matter what day of the week.
However, even though it may not have an effect on the amount of school spirit, there are still many reasons to have a mascot and reintroduce a mascot to DU sporting life. Most importantly, having a mascot would help give us an identity as a student body. Suddenly, we would have a face that not only other students, but anyone who knows DU would recognize as our own. A name is meaningless without the face to back it up.
A name is not enough—that’s only part of the identity as a pioneer. A mascot would help us identify with the sports programs and the school even more if we had a face for it. A mascot somehow makes us care more because it suddenly becomes more relevant to us and gives us a feel of familiarity. It is part of the fun, especially when you have many good sports programs.
Additionally, a mascot has been in high demand ever since DU got rid of Boone in the first place. When Denver Boone was retired, there were many students who tried to bring him back.
However, DU said that he was too offensive, as he too closely resembled Daniel Boone, who became associated with the forceful displacement of Native Americans from their land and therefore was offensive to some students as well as unrelatable. The University also felt that Denver Boone was sexist, for he was seen as non-inclusive of the female athletes.
As a compromise, the university created the new mascot of a red tailed hawk named Ruckus, but that didn’t go over so well, as many couldn’t see how he had anything to do with Pioneers. Therefore, Ruckus was also retired back in 2007.
Ever since the retirement of Ruckus, the process of getting a new mascot has been in the works and it is about time that the process should be sped up.
Students want a face or symbol to identify with, a goofy mascot running around campus during game week and a face to associate with the school. It could help give our “Pioneer Nation” that extra push to be even more incredible, and It’ll be one more person boosting the energy and vibe around campus, cheering on our Pios.