WORDS FROM THE WISE: Alumnus recounts mascot debate
In 1965-66, I was privileged to serve as editor-in-chief of Student Life, the predecessor to this newspaper. It was a wonderful experience and a great preparation for an exciting career.
That was in the midst of the Vietnam War – a time of much national unrest, particularly among college students. Some campuses were under siege, with student demonstrations often turning violent and destructive.
Somehow, that level of discontent wasn’t significantly manifested at USU. The most emotional issue was whether the university should provide a facility for those who wanted to smoke on campus. After much deliberation, it was determined to dedicate a portion of the lower level of the Student Center as a smoking room. It proved to be a good decision. That became a popular place to hang out.
We certainly didn’t wish Vietnam protests upon our campus. But, having survived the furor of debate around a smoking room, we discussed the virtues of debate in the public square in an editorial board meeting. I advanced my long-held belief that, because Agriculture had become the smallest college in the university, we should consider a new name and mascot. The farmer in bibbed overalls carrying a pitchfork was a disservice to the broader university, and “Aggies” connoted we were predominantly farmers. Of course, our legacy as a land-grant college and our national recognition as a center of agricultural excellence was a righteous source of pride. But the university was growing and times were changing.
The staff supported an editorial campaign to call for a consideration of a new name and mascot. I enthusiastically went to work to put the concept into words. We would proceed with a few editorials calling upon students, faculty and administration to consider alternatives in collegial fashion. This would be with a hope that there could be a substantive review of alternatives representing diverse views from the stakeholders.
With no fear or trepidation and insufficient appreciation for deep-seated and emotional attachment to the traditions surrounding the farmer mascot and the title of Aggies, I wrote and released the first editorial.
I had no idea. The reaction brought new appreciation to expressions mostly confined to barnyards or to sub rosa conversations. As we now say, “Awkward.”
My father, an Aggie of long-standing called and asked, “How could you desecrate a tradition like that?” A university vice president called me into his office and verbally “took me to the woodshed,” lecturing me about disrespecting tradition. Letters to the editor flooded our offices, equally passionate on both sides. We heard plentifully from scores of alumni.
Happily, our journalism faculty advisor, Marlin Nelson, was steadfastly supportive of this initiative and generously counseled on how to execute our editorial plan. We stood our ground and moved ahead, offering further rationale for the idea and enjoying the great debate that ensued. Major newspapers in the state commented. John Mooney, the prominent sports editor of the Salt Lake Tribune, took note. He ventured that it was a very timely debate and that USU “could do worse than to consider ‘Big Blue’, ‘Scotsmen’, ‘Highlanders.'” The controversy raged, then eventually, simmered. Of course, such major changes take time. I believe a colleague quietly observed, “This ain’t gonna happen in our lifetimes.”
Though clearly we can’t claim credit, it is heartening to visit the campus in the Highlands – as I did this week -and to see that some of the best ideas generated in 1966 found a home.
Go Aggies! Your raging bull is awesome. Your logos are classy. Your blues are big. USU is great.
–Laird Walker graduated in the USU class of 1967 with a major in journalism. Walker spent 30 years as a public relations and public affairs official in the telecommunications industry. He retired in 1997, and has since established a political consulting group. Walker currently resides in northern Virginia, in a suburb of Washington, D.C.