GW Hoops / GW New Moniker Discussion

**Posted by Hatchet Man** 6/15/2022 12:26 pm

It's time, as the Hatchet proposed in 1990 or so, to change the name to the Running Revolutionaries!

**Posted by Merrick** 6/15/2022 12:27 pm

Awful--don't get a rat's a$$ about a new moniker.

**Posted by Long Suffering Fan** 6/15/2022 12:27 pm

Put me down as stupid and embarrassing. But if we must change the name, how about The Rams. Send like a safe and inoffensive choice.

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (6/15/2022 12:28 pm)

**Posted by LA Colonial** 6/15/2022 12:31 pm

How about the Swiss? Is that neutral enough?

**Posted by GW Alum Abroad** 6/15/2022 12:38 pm

I attended GW at a time when I was unable to set foot in my country of birth because the USA had installed a brutal dictatorship (ie Yanqui imperialism). Since then, I have lived in countries where the USA funded civil wars to "protect its interests", wars that killed people and continue to create hardships and limit economic development due to the damage they brought to the countries.
I know the difference between a "Colonial" and a "colonist". I know the difference between a tricornered hat and pith helmet. I know the difference between an IPA and the CIA. Every week, I meet with a group of people who had live electric wires strapped to their genitalia with the full knowledge, approval and funding of the government of the United States. None of them are confused by the difference, either.
Everyone arrives on their college campus with the fantasy of changing the mascot or renaming the quad or tossing out the evil Dean. "Colonials" may not be a totally rad nickname, but it is not an endorsement of imperalism, a symbol of opression or an offense to downtrodden masses. Had the arguement been "it is antiquated and lame" I might have given it some thought.
Until you have looked down the barrel of a rifle held by a soldier who feels that you (his/her compatriot) is an enemy and that a far-away government in another country that provided the rifle is a friend, then you cannot claim to have any knowledge of what "invokes" imperialsm or not.

Last edited by GW Alum Abroad (6/15/2022 12:57 pm)

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 6/15/2022 12:51 pm

Long Suffering Fan wrote:
Put me down as stupid and embarrassing. But if we must change the name, how about The Rams. Send like a safe and inoffensive choice.

Let's do this and have an annual confererence doubleheader:

Fordham Rams vs. Rhode Island Rams

followed by

VCU Rams vs GW Rams

(LSF, I thought this is where you were coming from but just in case this wasn't the case, The A10 Ramfest should now be more than just a pipedream.)

**Posted by RyanPuleo** 6/15/2022 12:52 pm

The simple and easy solution here is "Revolutionaries." Wouldnt need to change too many logos, can shorten it to "Revs" when needed, and it pretty much means the same thing. I wouldn't mind it at all. It's too late to go back, I just want them to pick a good new one

**Posted by SmithCenterAlum** 6/15/2022 12:58 pm

It is pretty clear from the responses here that the majority of board posters have very limited exposure to college age adults and what constitutes campus activism (or engagement) for them. What may have been 'normal' for the 70's, 80's or 90's, does not fly in the 2020's.

**Posted by FredD** 6/15/2022 1:02 pm

Gwmayhem wrote:
Long Suffering Fan wrote:
Put me down as stupid and embarrassing. But if we must change the name, how about The Rams. Send like a safe and inoffensive choice.
Let's do this and have an annual confererence doubleheader:

Fordham Rams vs. Rhode Island Rams

followed by

VCU Rams vs GW Rams

RAMFEST would a great holiday tournament!

(LSF, I thought this is where you were coming from but just in case this wasn't the case, The A10 Ramfest should now be more than just a pipedream.)

**Posted by GW0509** 6/15/2022 1:04 pm

Gwmayhem wrote:
Long Suffering Fan wrote:
Put me down as stupid and embarrassing. But if we must change the name, how about The Rams. Send like a safe and inoffensive choice.
Let's do this and have an annual confererence doubleheader:

Fordham Rams vs. Rhode Island Rams

followed by

VCU Rams vs GW Rams

(LSF, I thought this is where you were coming from but just in case this wasn't the case, The A10 Ramfest should now be more than just a pipedream.)

Don’t forget the Loyola Chicago RAMblers

**Posted by jersey guy** 6/15/2022 1:06 pm

RyanPuleo wrote:
The simple and easy solution here is "Revolutionaries." Wouldnt need to change too many logos, can shorten it to "Revs" when needed, and it pretty much means the same thing. I wouldn't mind it at all. It's too late to go back, I just want them to pick a good new one

It works for me, but doesn't that invoke people with guns?

**Posted by Mike K** 6/15/2022 1:20 pm

ESPN AP Article

According to an online statement from the university, a that committee determined that supporters of "Colonials" view it as referring to "those who lived in the American colonies, especially those who fought for independence and democracy," while opponents see the term as referring to "colonizers who stole land and resources from indigenous groups, killed or exiled Native peoples and introduced slavery into the colonies."

**Posted by Deleo** 6/15/2022 1:58 pm

I think Generals is a simple name. And not too many people probably remember that as the team that the Globetrotters played. Carvers is not bad either.

**Posted by GW73** 6/15/2022 2:01 pm

Who cares what the nickname is? Marquette got rid of Warriors in 2005. Went with the Gold. Outcry took place and Marquette switched to Golden Eagles, Some how Marquette basketball survived. I would sure like GW basktebll to be in the same position that Marquette basketball is today.

**Posted by Steve Urkel** 6/15/2022 2:05 pm

anything BUT hippos
nothing will send you to the front of the laughing stock section quicker than choosing (or even entertaining the idea of) that absurd and awful nickname

**Posted by TJT85** 6/15/2022 2:36 pm

Other A-10 schools such as UMass and St Bonaventure have changed their nicknames. UMass was once the Redmen with a native chief as mascot. SBU previously went by the moniker Brown Indians and had a native mascot.

UMass known by racist mascot for 24 years
Before the Minutemen, students voted to become the “Redmen”
https://dailycollegian.com/2021/11/umass-known-by-racist-mascot-for-24-years/

The St. Bonaventure Brown Indian
http://archives.sbu.edu/symbols/brown_indian.htm

Last edited by TJT85 (6/15/2022 2:37 pm)

**Posted by BC** **Online!** 6/15/2022 2:39 pm

I sent a reply to Daniel Bergner who sent out the email I received about the name change and pretty quickly got a response. Here's part of his reply: :"We have created the website https://moniker.gwu.edu/ which has a lot of information on the decision-making process. I found it very helpful to understand the decision the special committee made."

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 6/15/2022 2:43 pm

SmithCenterAlum wrote:
It is pretty clear from the responses here that the majority of board posters have very limited exposure to college age adults and what constitutes campus activism (or engagement) for them. What may have been 'normal' for the 70's, 80's or 90's, does not fly in the 2020's.

Well, I shared the news with my child who has not been out of college that long and he finds the whole thing "laughable and beyond ridiculous."

**Posted by BM** 6/15/2022 2:47 pm

RyanPuleo wrote:
The simple and easy solution here is "Revolutionaries." Wouldnt need to change too many logos, can shorten it to "Revs" when needed, and it pretty much means the same thing. I wouldn't mind it at all. It's too late to go back, I just want them to pick a good new one

I like!

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 6/15/2022 2:52 pm

Mike K wrote:
ESPN AP Article

According to an online statement from the university, a that committee determined that supporters of "Colonials" view it as referring to "those who lived in the American colonies, especially those who fought for independence and democracy," while opponents see the term as referring to "colonizers who stole land and resources from indigenous groups, killed or exiled Native peoples and introduced slavery into the colonies."

NO, NO, NO! Definitions of words are not matters of opinion. You can't take the word "refrigerator" and state that one group views the word as an appliance designed to store and keep food cold while others define it as a fluid put in a car to enable power steering. Colonizer and Colonial are different words with different meanings, not subject to interpretation.