What readers may or may not know is that the mascot of Columbia-Greene Community College has been a very angry-looking Rip Van Winkle. Ten years ago, in a competition among SUNY colleges known as "Mascot Madness," Rip made it to the Final Four.
Today, Rip was retired, replaced by a new mascot--a black bear known as "The Guardian."
The new mascot is "the result of a deliberate process that was student-first, representing the spirit of both Columbia and Greene counties." Caitlin Twomey, assistant dean of students who led the process, explained, "This mascot is more than just for athletics. It is something that represents our community. It represents the new wave of college, our region, and our counties into one fun, physical form. The Guardian is here to protect our students."
1. Trashie was robbed!
ReplyDelete2. Rip Van Winkle slept through important stuff and was allergic to hard work and responsibility... can see why he was chosen and why he was unchosen.
I can't believe that this is something a college administration would assume is important. I can't believe the students (or at least their parents who, ostensibly, are footing the tuition bill for most of them) find this a reasonable, useful way to spend scarce dollars.
ReplyDeleteI guess there's a reason why we used to call community college "high school with ashtrays." This is the sort of thing you'd expect from a secondary school, not a center of higher education -- with or without ashtrays.
I’ll take an animal mascot over a human one any day—animals are kinder, and honestly deserve to be liberated whenever possible. Congrats on the new mascot!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know why the Children's Book Festival is at Columbia Greene CC and not HCSD (where the children are, and more buildings, closer to families, actually in the City of Hudson, NY).
ReplyDeleteMembers of the HCSD Board of Education, led by Sehla Graham, made it clear the festival was no longer welcome at HCSD. See these posts from 2024 and 2025:
Deletehttps://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2024/07/a-disturbing-development.html
https://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2025/05/happening-this-saturday.html