There are a lot of changes I’ve seen since arriving on campus as a freshman.
Some ideas have been pushed through and implemented quickly, while others were bogged down with additional meetings, channels.
Some changes have appeared as whims (most often to student bystanders), while others were clearly planned and vetted through the student body, faculty and administrators through our college’s longstanding tradition of “shared governance” (quotations intentional).
Some of them were slight changes that reflect a larger shift in the college’s culture or policies, while others were larger, more visible changes.
Some were well received, others were not.
The communication involved with many of the campus changes is often lacking, however, which leaves many students (and I’m sure also faculty and staff) perplexed and prone to start rumors about costs and reasons why a change was even necessary.
Like the new athletic camel, for one.
As seen by the interviews with students in the news section this week, the piece in the sports section as well as conversations with almost any student on campus, many are perplexed by the new camel, the costs incurred and why Conn needs a new logo in the first place.
I work in College Relations so I know the reasoning behind the college’s efforts in designing a new branding strategy. (I mean after all, who really wants the same seal that’s on your diploma to be on a shot glass? Our name “Connecticut College” also brings a lot of complications along with it: a college in Connecticut? Or UConn?) Having a stronger mascot image is not only good for our athletic teams when facing NESCAC peers, but also good for the overall morale of the college and status among our peers. Conn is constantly struggling, mainly because of its name (It really should’ve been Thames College, that would have saved us from so much confusion), to market a consistent identity. (Think of Lilah’s article on “ExtraOrdinary” Conn).
Of course, judging from Connecticut College’s Facebook Fan Page responses to the new logo (not seal) and camel athletics logo, it seems current students and alums (aside from mostly disliking the new camel) are confused and angered by the change, claiming that it does not reflect an identity they associate with Conn.
But it always seems to me that alumni, and even current students, are opposed to any change made to our college.
Maybe that’s why we wanted a camel that’s “proud,” “strong” and “dignified,” as well as “collegiate” and “traditional.”
Even in the past four years I’ve been at Conn, I’ve seen numerous changes that shocked and amazed us (at least at first). Renaming “The Green” to “Tempel Green,” labeling streets, changing the name of “Marshall” to “Johnson,” the giant sidewalk plopped in front of the library, Putto 4 Over 4, and many more… and now the camel logo.
We got over them, embraced some of them. And we’ll get over the new logo too.
Although we like to grasp onto the idea of traditions at Conn (of which there are few true traditions), we ultimately are a college full of changes, whether or not we acknowledge them.
Ironically, even our last “retro” mascot was only released in 1999. It only feels “traditional” to us because it’s all we’ve known in the years we’ve been here.
That’s the greatest conundrum I’ve noticed as a student here: our perception of “tradition” is so horribly warped. The college, like any entity, is constantly shifting, adding traditions, leaving traditions behind, changing names of buildings. None are sacred.
Looking back at old yearbooks reveals Cro with a swimming pool, different names for the college newspaper, a variety of logos and seals.
Identity shifts with the current students, faculty, staff and administration, and reflects their values and interests.
Push to have your voice heard next time a change is coming that you feel strongly about. Voicing opinions and concerns are important. But you know in four years, most of us won’t even remember Mr. Happy Camel.
