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October 8, 2001 |
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Commentary:
Blockie asks, "Is it really hip to be square?"
By Don Asdel
An academic institution's responsibility extends beyond its classrooms or student services. Students should demand more
from their school, and it is time this campus stepped out of the shadows of its parent university to claim its own
identity.
Lately, the campus is rampant with signs of progress. Roads are being resurfaced, offices and classrooms are being
remodeled, technical support is being updated, and plans for building construction are underway. Yet, amid the physical
prosperity we are overlooking an important deficiency. We need to address rebuilding UH-Clear Lake's identity and giving
students a little school spirit.
As it stands, students have little outside of the University of Houston System with which they can relate. We have no
official mascot, no fight song, an unknown sloganor catch phrase, and a crest that bears a strong resemblance to that
of the University of Houston System. Even our university's name rolls off the tongue like a disclaimer.
This is not the University of Houston. UH-Clear Lake has a different look and a different feel. Although this school
was established in1971 as a by-product of an established college, University of Houston is now as foreign to most
UH-Clear Lake students as Rice University or any other Texas university.
The argument that logos, mascots, slogans and the like are merely marketing tools unimportant to the success of a
university fails to address a bigger question: Is the lack of student involvement on campus a reflection of the student
population or has the university failed to promote a sense of community?
We can all come up with excuses. The university does not have anathletic program, it is an upper-level institution,
a commuter campus with an older student body and so on. It is time to stop making excuses.
Everyone came to this university for his or her own reasons. The idea that you enrolled at UH-Clear Lake because it
was close to home or that parking was convenient, does not change the fact that for the next two or more years this
campus will become your home away from home.
We don't have to secede from the current system to establish a new identity. Let us take our school colors of blue
and green and run with it. We can redesign our school's logo and signature line or incorporate our existing one into
a new design. We should solicit ideas for a school mascot.
The university's unofficial mascot "Blockie," which began as a student vision over two years ago, should drop its hat
into the running of an open election.
As a campus complete with a wildlife refuge and bayou, we have plenty of distinct features to work with. And with the
university's artistic resources, we could easily remodel or create our own college land mark.
It is time for this university to look inward at its perceived identity. By bringing together the ideas of students,
faculty and staff, we can pay respect to our academic lineage while building a new sense of community and school spirit.
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