Goodbye George: GW students vote to 'remove and replace' mascot
"The George Washington University student body voted Thursday to "remove and replace" its mascot, the George the Colonial.
According to the GWU Joint Elections Commission, 54 percent of students who voted in this spring’s Student Association elections supported the removal of the Colonial as the school’s mascot. It was not immediately clear what students plan to replace the Colonial mascot with or even if school administrators will act on the results of the referendum.
“There's a huge difference between a colonial, which is our mascot, and anyone who lived during colonial times, and colonialism, which is what students are saying this mascot is representative of, which is not the case at all." Tweet This
Campus Reform asked GWU to comment on the matter but did not hear back in time for publication.
"The original push to change the mascot started last spring with an online petition, which garnered over 500 signatures. Ashley Le, who served as GW Student Association President at the time, encouraged university administrators to listen to students' concerns on the matter. The total number of signatories that the petition has amounted to less than 2 percent of the GW student body.
"Last spring, two-time GW alumnus Michael La Place published an op-ed in The GW Hatchet, titled, “GW must stand by Colonials nickname." In his piece, he said that “being identified as a Colonial fills me with pride.” Earlier this school year, GW hired Jordan West as diversity coordinator. In an article about West’s hiring, Le told The Hatchet that West discussed the issue of changing the “colonials” moniker at their fall retreat." . . .
Founding Fathers under attack: Students demand Thomas Jefferson statue removal
. . . "The statue has been the center of controversy on the campus and has been defaced with “DECOLONIZE” and “Black Lives Matter” signs and stickers. According to a media advisory sent by the Jefferson Has Gotta Go (JGG) campaign, the protest was held outside Hofstra Breslin Hall at the statue. Organizers included “students of Hofstra University, staff from Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, and supporters of Hempstead community.' ” . . .
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