The first in a series, Lumination asks Lipscomb students what their thoughts are about the mascot change. This will be an ongoing series until the decision is made final. The following is written by senior American Studies major Grant Winter.
We are Lipscomb. This has been our university’s mantra ever since L. Randolph Lowry became president. It is a phrase that could be heard every time he spoke, coupled with the latest statistics or rankings for a little school bragging rights. While I soon grew tired of the continual usage, one thing about the phrase provided solace. It did not include the name of our mascot, Bisons.
Don’t get me wrong. I have as much school spirit as the next. There is nothing I enjoy more than heckling an opposing player to the point of frustration. Yet, every time I hear “Bisons” in a cheer, I cringe.
There is a reason that every time I type the word “Bisons,” a little red squiggly line appears underneath. Our beloved mascot is a falsehood. A fantasy. It doesn’t exist. It belongs only in an imaginary land with deers, gooses and mouses.
I know there are many who are holding on for dear life to the consonant in question.
There have been arguments of tradition. I call it more of a bad habit.
Some think that it will cost too much money to rebrand everything on campus. Look around. “Bisons” is not displayed many places. It would seem the athletic department has long been ashamed of the name.
Others say “Bison” sounds weird or that keeping the current spelling sets us apart. Does the Alabama Crimson Tide sound weird? Can I get a “Roll Tides?” I didn’t think so.
Lipscomb University claims to be an academic institution striving to increase the knowledge of its students. We aren’t a half-rate online vocational school. We live on the south side of the boulevard. A grammatically incorrect mascot is an embarrassment to higher education and should be to the students.
I know that many of us have grown up in the Restoration Movement tradition and fear change. But we have come a long way from thinking a guitar will send someone to hell (or in other words expelled and sent to Harding.) We still may be behind the times with some of our policies but let us not let intellectual ignorance stick around for the sake of phonetics and tradition. The “s” must go.
School pride isn’t attached to the letter “s” anymore than Christmas spirit is to an Amy Grant showcase or fine dining is to Sodexo. Purple and gold will continue to be our colors. Our animosity towards Belmont will not cease.
There is the Stanford Cardinal. Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Syracuse Orange.
Let there be the Lipscomb Bison.