John*, a student at Centennial, has spent the week of February 26th
collecting signatures for a petition to change the school mascot from
an eagle to a dairy cow. John has collected 100 signatures as of March
2nd.
The students of Centennial have had mixed reactions regarding the
choice of the new mascot. Some have eagerly signed, while others
either laughed or shook their heads. John estimated that 65% of the
people asked to sign were enthusiastic about it.
The idea of a dairy cow as our mascot is a far-fetched one, and one
that a number of people, even those who did sign, didn’t take
seriously.
“Some people didn’t like it; they thought I was crazy,” said John.
The question of ‘why a cow?’ was asked as people heard of the
petition. John’s answer was simple; “In gym, I looked up at the eagle
drawn on the wall. I thought, ‘why not a cow?’ They give us a lot of
things; milk, meat, leather, to name a few.”
The petition, which John started as a joke to see how others would
react, has gotten way more attention then he had ever anticipated. “I
hadn’t expected to get more than 20 signatures.”
After seeing how many people supported the new mascot, John has set
new goals for what used to be something just done for fun. “I’m aiming
for 300 signatures now. If I can get that many, I might even consider
turning it in.”
John’s idea of “Bovine Pride” will most likely never come into
fruition. Centennial currently enrolls 1434 students. With 300
signatures, that will only be about 20% of the student body that
supports the change. Even if John does manage to get the majority of
the school behind him, it is still unlikely that anything will come of
it.
Centennial has been open for 35 years, and the eagle has always been
the mascot. The school colors– red, white, and blue– are the
patriotic colors that are most commonly associated with eagles. Eagles
inspire feelings of pride, respect, and authority. Cows most commonly
inspire thoughts of farmland. The odds that a mascot would change
after so many years from an eagle to a dairy cow are very low.
*Name has been changed
