George Washington University, a private university located in Washington, D.C., has a mascot that resembles American Founding Father George Washington, called the Colonial. But, students at the university narrowly approved a proposal to drop the Colonial mascot because it reminds some of them of colonialism. Instead, some students recommend changing the mascot to a hippopotamus, a statue of which is found on the university campus.
The university administration did not indicate whether they would make the mascot change and told Inside Higher Ed, “GW students are actively engaged in the world and passionate about the issues important to them, as seen in this recent student vote. University administration has been following the conversation about the university’s nickname. We respect the opinions of our students, however we have no specific comment on the referendum at this time.”
