Lions, (No Tigers), or Bears. Oh, My!
By Jordan Chila | Editor-in-Chief
with reporting by Elysian Alder | Editor-in-Chief
From Nov. 11–20, 2024, Mount Wachusett Community College held a vote to decide whether to replace its current mascot, Marty the Mountain Lion. Marty became mascot back in 2016 and has had updated designs over the years. The college’s marketing department feels the school could revamp the identity of the mascot to be more tailored to the spirit of MWCC, while some in the community expressed reluctance to see Marty retired.
The college offered a range of alternative mascot options for consideration, however the polls have narrowed it down to two options – the bear and the mountain lion. Beyond selecting a specific mascot, the survey asked what factors were important when choosing as well as what specifies their relationship to the college. If a new mascot is chosen, the school could roll it out as early as this coming spring, however, some people may not be ready for this change to come so soon.
There has been debate if the school needs to completely do away with Marty or just rebrand the design. Kathy Matson, director of student life, sees the need for design changes but opposes a full-on change to a new mascot. Matson stated, “I feel that we should absolutely update the logo, but the mountain
lion should stay.” Matson further elaborated by saying there is no “logical” reason to change it. “I’m not aware of any student-initiated push to change the mascot, and everything we do at MWCC should be student centered,” she said.
Matson was part of the committee that worked on the project to change the mascot, alongside Sabine Dupoux, Assistant Dean, Nia Carignan, Associate Director of Public Relations & Communications, and Stephanie England, Director of Marketing. “The first email I received about the project was on July 16th and it simply stated, “a rebrand of the college’s mascot.” It did not specify changing the mascot completely,” said Matson. She went on to further elaborate that, to her knowledge, no surveys were requested or received from anyone outside of the marketing department prior to moving forward with the mascot change. “Ultimately, we paid for services to change the mascot without knowing if students, staff, and faculty even wanted to make a change,” said Matson.
With recent updates to the remaining options for the mascot, England was asked if designs were readily available for students and faculty to aid in their decision. She detailed a two-step phase that consists of first narrowing down the mascot contestants and then having another poll for the design. “In phase two, visual concepts will be developed for the chosen animal, and students, employees, and the community will be invited to vote on the final design,” she said.
England further elaborated, stating, “With the recent launch of free college…we feel it’s the perfect time to refresh the mascot to better reflect our current students, staff, and faculty.”
When asked how the school gained funds for this, England gave insight that the marketing department had funds ready and set aside for this to happen. She also gave awareness into how much the renovation of a new mascot could be. “While we do not have a finalized cost due to the inclusive research and feedback loop…we anticipate the total cost to be no more than $5,000,” said England. She further expressed how if Marty is to remain, she is happy with the expenses made in order to keep a mascot that will uphold the MWCC spirit and values.
James Vander Hooven, President of Mount Wachusett Community College, confirmed how the funds were allotted for the development of a Mascot. Vander Hooven stated, “The funds used for this were part of the institution’s fiscal budget that I authorized and then received approval from the Board of Trustees.” The funds have been used to hire and partner with the School Branding Agency based out of Hyde Park, NY for the design process, including creating a mythology and backstory for the mascot.
Others shared Matson’s earlier concerns. Sophia Spier, a Liberal Art and Science Major, voiced thoughts on the process. “Looking at this pragmatically, I think it could be a waste of resources to rebrand the school entirely.” Spier further elaborated how the school could simply rebrand some versions of Marty to a more “serious, less cartoon-like” version, but keep the more cartoonish aesthetic on things like the Garrison Center and Marty’s Market.
While some would love to keep Marty the Mountain Lion, others are more open to the idea of a change. Science major, Jay Morris, said, “I would like the new mascot to have a meaning behind it. I like Marty, but if the new mascot represents MWCC better, then I like the idea of changing the mascot.”
Why the marketing department didn’t use a graphic design student to work something up was brought to question when the conflict of funds and design were present. In 2016 MWCC marketing department enlisted Dylan Safford to help with the creation of Marty we see today. England expressed the need to branch out because of timeliness. “This rebranding effort is on a defined timeline to align with the replacement of current materials and ongoing marketing needs, which wouldn’t be conducive to student schedules.” However, she is excited for student input with the voting process.
Either way, the new mascot will be chosen by the votes it receives, even while some students and staff have questions about demand or necessity for a change of mascot in the first place. President Vander Hooven would not disclose his vote, but did feel good about the process. “I really feel that the selection should be made by the majority of the voters- they should play a big role in the selection, not just me.”
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