Come fall, Elgin High School students could be rallying before the big game with a maroon raccoon as their team mascot. That’s one of the choices under consideration for a school that’s been without a team icon since 2002.
There are 10 others — a bear, dragon, fox, knight, lion, marauder, mustang, red panda, watchman and wolf — that will be narrowed to a final three via a public voting process that ends Friday. All of them can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwCje0MEPoc.
“The hope is to present our (final) choice to the U-46 Board of Education before the school year is over,” Elgin High School Principal Avelira Rodriguez Gonzalez said.
Because they are choosing a mascot and not a school or building name, the choice does not require school board approval, District U-46 spokeswoman Kristine Rogowski said. The presentation will be to make the board and community aware of the new mascot and what went into the process of choosing it, she said.
Elgin High School’s sports teams have been called the Maroons and its school colors maroon and cream since its founding in 1869. There are no plans to change either, Rodriguez Gonzalez said.
The school had no mascot until 1982, when they introduced Chief Mighty Maroon, who wore a Native American-style costume and headdress, according to information provided by the principal.
That icon fell out of favor by the 1990s and the chief hadn’t appeared at games or pep rallies or on gear or uniforms for several years before being officially retired in 2002. Wooden statues of the chief were removed from near the school’s fieldhouse and the image taken off school letterhead and documents.
In 2014, there was an effort to choose a new mascot in 2014 but it didn’t go anywhere, according to the principal’s history.
This time the issue was broached by the school’s principal advisory committee and its student subcommittee on school spirit, Rodriguez Gonzalez said.
“The students decided that one of their focuses would be to find a mascot. From that, we created a committee with all stakeholders,” she said.
The group is made up of 25 people, including Rodriguez Gonzalez, athletic director Paul Pennington, booster club president Julian Hernandez, students, parents, alumni, staff and administrators.
Criteria for the new mascot includes selecting a symbol that honors the high school’s 1869 legacy; represents unity and diversity within the student body; reflects resilience, integrity and growth; aligns with school colors; is timeless yet modern and easily branded/recognizable; inspires pride across generations and has a core theme of “honoring history while celebrating growth and change,” according to a webpage for the selection project.
The framework also factors in the need to be distinct and avoid copyright and trademark risk. With those factors in mind, mascots and related logos were put together.
Rodriguez Gonzalez said anyone is welcome to vote on their favorite by going to forms.gle/EqPzdz2JZMV1vMqL7. Once the top three are selected, there will be a final round of voting.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
