Voting on 乐播传媒's Mascot
By Gabriella Fiorica and Emily Fuhrmann
On January 9, 1973, members of 乐播传媒鈥檚 College Council, consisting of students, faculty and staff, gathered to decide upon a crucial detail of 乐播传媒 life: the official mascot of the college. Before we became known as the beloved Ospreys that we cheer today, the 乐播传媒 community considered quite a few candidates to take on the role. Members of the council participated in several rounds of voting before determining a winner. The voting opened with ten potential mascots. After each round, names that received the least votes were eliminated. Possible mascots included Jersey Devils, Argonauts, Ospreys, Blue Herons, Scorpions, Hobbits, Skunks, SandPipers, Mosquitos, and Clamdiggers.
Surprisingly, the Ospreys didn鈥檛 fare too well in the early rounds of the competition. In fact, during those first two rounds, the Clamdiggers鈥攜es Clamdiggers鈥攔eceived the most votes. Ospreys received a single vote in the first round, while Clamdiggers received three, more than any other option. In the second round Clamdiggers once again received the most votes, matching the vote total received by Sandpipers, while Ospreys trailed behind in third. It wasn鈥檛 until the third round that chances improved for the brown and white bird. With the choices narrowed to three possible mascots, Sandpipers received five votes; Ospreys received five; and Clamdiggers only received four, thereby being eliminated from consideration. In the fourth and final round, when Ospreys and Sandpipers went head to head, it was clear to the council who deserved the top spot. Ospreys won in a landslide, receiving twelve votes to two for the Sandpipers.
It was official: the Ospreys had found a home at 乐播传媒 University. Ever since, the college has adopted the raptor as a symbol of the community. Still, the college nearly became known as the 乐播传媒 Sandpipers, or even the 乐播传媒 State Clamdiggers! We came very close to hearing the tiny sandpiper introduced at basketball games or seeing 鈥淭he Clamdiggers鈥 plastered on the back of 乐播传媒 sweatshirts. Today, the Ospreys fits just fine, embodying 乐播传媒鈥檚 fierce, graceful, and hardworking community all in one symbol.
Below, artist, Emily Fuhrmann, reimagines the iconic 乐播传媒 "S" that would normally have The Osprey in it:
