Barney needs a facelift, yet some feel excluded

All of the content in the Opinion section this week addresses the adoption of a new Mt. Hood athletic logo, for which voting closes at 6 p.m. today. Maybe this discussion would have been more influential at the beginning of Fall Term when this idea was first presented, but the Advocate feels as if its role now is to inform students while there is still time to vote. Informing the constituents of the school is a middle ground that Health & PE Instructor Fred Schnell, the ASG (Associated Student Government), and the Advocate all share.

That being said, what is the true benefit of a mascot?

Sure, giving a face to what is otherwise a bureaucratic hydra of an institution is comforting, but is summing up all of MHCC by calling us the “Saints”/(as in Saint Bernard) accurate?

We think that’s just where some of the confusion on this comes from. Yes, a Saint Bernard fits Mt. Hood, since they’re service dogs on the actual mountain, known for rescuing people after avalanches. And it’s definitely a more original character than most of the titans and cougars that seem to grace other community colleges. It also adds a humanitarian note.

The problem is the abbreviation – the “Saints” for short. We can understand why that happened: “Go, Saint Bernards!” just doesn’t sound right.

But this leaves the moniker a bit muddled: Without the “Bernard” at the end, opposing teams/spectators are left to assume we’re the generic brand of “Saints.” And the old logo can confuse more than help, when it is rarely on an MHCC uniform (it doesn’t show up on in-game uniforms at the moment, just items such as jackets, hats, etc). That rendition of Barney definitely has jowls and fangs more fitting for a bulldog, as well.

”I thought we were the bull dogs too, I didn’t know who Saint Bernard was,” said ASG Vice President Lindsay Patiño.

This leaves the Saints with a marketing dilemma: It is hard to build brand recognition being the Saint Bernards, but splitting time between being the Saints and the Saint Bernards doesn’t help, either.

The athletic department has tried to keep a better sense of continuity in previous years to build a connection with the community. Changing the mascot now may interrupt some of that continuity, but at the same time, the clearer depiction of Barney could better connect with the community and regain that lost recognition, and then some.

We understand feeling the urge to update the logo; it seems to be the norm for a lot of athletic institutions,  to update their style on occasion. But the Barney vote being a choice between the three finalists ASG chose, has left some faculty members feeling left out- An option to keep the previous Barney should have been offered, but it is definitely time to move forward.

The reason Barney wasn’t included, explained Patiño was that a twelve credit tuiton waiver was being offered to the winner of the contest which falls flat if the old Barney were to win.

Advocate Staff