Above: A group of ARHS students presented mocked up logos and the strengths and weaknesses of five mascot concepts that the entire school will soon vote on. (images from instagram)
Today, Algonquin presented students more information about their choices for a new mascot. Students will be asked to cast their online votes through their school accounts this Friday. (I assume that will be postponed if Friday turns out to be a snow day.)
Overviews of the five options were created by the school’s Sports and Entertainment Marketing students. For each option, the marketing students came up with some pros and cons to consider.
In addition to a screencast for students in school today, info was posted to the school’s Instagram stories by students from the Social Media Marketing class.
Each mascot option is shown with a mocked up potential logo. Students were advised that these aren’t final versions of logos, just drafts created for this phase of the selection process. (In fact, envisioning what a logo might actually look like was one of the challenges students highlighted under some mascot “cons”.)
Here are highlights from the info on insta:
Eagles
Pros:
- USA’s national animal
- Represents courage and strength
- Shows leadership with their vision and wisdom
Cons:
- One of the most common mascots
- Does not promote individuality
Falcons
Pros:
- Falcon is one of the world’s fastest animals when it performs a diving maneuver.
- Algonquin’s maroon and gold hues create a unique and fresh look for the Falcon mascot (with the majority of Falcon schools using blue, red, and white.)
Cons:
- Having the same name as other teams in the same division (ex. Minnechaug Falcons, Mashpee Falcons.)
- Similarities between other logos and schools
- 14th most common high school mascot in the United States
- The Falcon does not have much significance in the Northboro/Southboro region.
Nor’ Easters
Pros:
- 2nd high school in New England to have it as a mascot
- Symbolizes intensity and strength
- Resonates with our state
- Transferrable to all aspects of student life!
Cons:
- “Storms” are not always portrayed as something positive
- Our school colors would be hard to align with this mascot
- What would our mascot look like?
Thunder
Pros:
- Unique
- Minimal controversy
- Potential for cool merchandise designs
- “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC as the theme song*
Cons:
- Thunder could be difficult to design
- Does not go with Algonquin colors
- Difficult to brand
- No strong meaning for the community
Titans
Pros:
- Woul look good on school merchandise
- Represents a person of strength, in both academics and sports
- A Titan is intimidating for opposing teams playing Algonquin
Cons:
- Does not represent academics or the arts as much
- Not as unique or specific to Northborough/Southborough
- Harder to depict in a logo
The insta story also shared a link to a video explaining how ranked choice voting works. (Primarily its a way to ensure that when people are choosing from several options that the “1st place” choice isn’t also the choice most opposed by the majority of voters.)
For more background on the school’s decision to replace the Tomahawks as its mascot, click here.
*Interesting concept. For those not familiar with the song, you can check out the video here and lyrics here.
If the kids select “Thunder” and adopt “Thunderstruck” as the accompanying theme song, an adult should carefully consider the lyrics. Just like our town to spend so much time and effort to accomplish very little. This whole episode is a metaphor for the fundamental issues with (at least Southborough’s) town governance.
Oh, and how is it that Gen-to-be-named is considering a Boomer band’s song as their theme? We may be buying walkers but AC/DC still rocks harder than any post-Boomer band. Ever.
Given that 50% of the school is female and half of the athletes are female, I am hoping they don’t select the Titans because it is the male name, titanide is the name for females. Also- one titanide sister and one Titan brother “mated” to create the Greek gods – creepy.
Also for female students: the Thunder song is offensive. It is from a male point of view , has females as a target of sexual pleasure, and doesn’t represent what we are hoping for for our 14-18 year olds.
Let’s get the mascot right this time and not ignore half of the school – and half of the athletes!
I agree with the comments above – imagine grandparents at future ARHS games belting out the words to a song which describes the fun times had by a group of young males at a Texas strip club…from cultural appropriation to female objectification in one fell swoop!