Ithaca College wants a new mascot named “Bomber,” but it can’t have anything to do with bombing
If you haven’t already heard, Ithaca College is now holding a contest seeking suggestions from the IC community to introduce a new mascot to the campus.
This comes, of course, in an effort to increase school spirit and produce a recognizable figure that might one day help people unfamiliar with the campus to identify the mascot with Ithaca College. I will admit this is not a bad idea, and though IC, as a DIII school, will never have an iconic mascot/logo like the Florida Gators or the Texas Longhorns, we can certainly improve from not having any mascot at all. This is not to mention how bland our logo is—it essentially consists of the words “Ithaca Bombers” with some sort of crescent moon around it, but at the same time, this is probably the only way we can have a logo of any kind without being offensive.
Let’s face it: The name “Bombers” simply cannot be portrayed tastefully, and although the word can occasionally be used to describe long throws or shots in sports, it is just a euphemism and can’t take away from the fact that we’re represented by pilots who are ordered to kill people.
Interestingly enough, IC’s Mascot Selection Task Force agrees on the offensiveness of the name “Bomber.”
Obviously they don’t come out and say that bluntly, but their mascot proposal guidelines include a note saying that literal, war-related proposals will not be considered. Everyone involved in the mascot search seems completely attached to the IC “Bomber” name out of tradition’s sake, but it’s pretty clear that if IC didn’t have a nickname at all and this task force were in charge of finding one, the name “Bombers” would never be considered at all.
If all goes to plan, perhaps by next semester, IC will have a brand new, thoroughly ambiguous mascot—maybe Bomber the Tiger or Bomber the Black Bear. Weird.
Here at Buzzsaw, we wonder how the name “Bombers” has lasted so long in the first place on such a pacifist campus within such a famously pro-peace community. The name, of course, needs to be replaced. However, that new mascot/nickname shouldn’t be a fierce animal like the Wildcats or the Lions—too boring and predictable. What we need is something outlandish and memorable, like the Furious Condors or the Thunder Zebras. At least that would be enjoyable, as opposed to a nickname that’s generic and war-related.
-Chris Giblin