The Gettysburg College student newspaper editorial board in Pennsylvania is calling for the school’s mascot, the “Bullet,” to be changed because of nationwide gun violence.
In an editorial published online by the Gettysburgian on June 13, the board argues that its mascot, the “Bullet” is an “embarrassment” to students.
“So how do we as a College most frequently recognize our connection to ‘those who here gave their lives that that nation might live’? With our mascot, the ‘Bullet.’ By identifying our school spirit with the weapon that took those lives,” the editorial states.
The writers of the editorial then state that “Gun violence in America is rampant” and “bullets are not historical artifacts but persistent threats,” adding that while the bullet “has historical relevance here in Gettysburg,” in other towns, it has a “frightening significance.”
According to the Gettysburg College website, the “Bullets” name is a “take-off on the Civil War Battlefield.” The editorial states that the mascot is a connection to “those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.”
“These more recent debates around the mascot bring us to today. Gun violence in America is rampant; bullets are not historical artifacts but persistent threats. Of course, the bullet has historical relevance here in Gettysburg, but in many other towns around the country it has frightening significance. Students returning to their hometowns in which a shooting has occurred may not be so eager to represent the ‘Bullets.’ Current students have had mass shootings in their towns. Current students have family members who are survivors of gun violence. T-shirts that state ‘Nothing is Faster Than a Speeding Bullet’ seem more like a threat than encouragement outside of campus,” the editorial states.
The piece describes an on-campus dining facility, The Bullet Hole, as “objectively disgusting to eat at” because it is allegedly “an extension of a mascot that is unnecessarily gory, especially for food service.”
Arguing that it’s unfair to “impose a mascot constructed in 1924 on 2022 Gettysburg,” the editorial board states that “We are a different generation than they were,” and the mascot should be changed.
“It is now up to us to choose a mascot that represents us—we are not bound to the Bullets just because students of the past have stuck with it. We are a different generation than they were: we grew up after Columbine and Sandy Hook, practicing active shooter drills. In the same way that it is unfair for us to apply our modern standards for an acceptable mascot to 1924 students, it is also unfair to continue to impose a mascot constructed in 1924 on 2022 Gettysburg,” the editorial states.
The board finishes by arguing that students “deserve a mascot we are proud of,” and not one “that we have to explain with embarrassment.”
“We should not be eating at ‘the Bullet Hole.’ Does the Bullet represent doing great work? Does the Bullet represent a peaceful future? Is the Bullet what best represents us, the Gettysburg College community? We, like many students over the past few decades, do not think so,” the editorial concludes.
A spokesperson for Gettysburg College told Fox News that “We support our students expressing viewpoints on issues that matter to them, including through the student newspaper. Productive dialogue is a hallmark of our education and it is encouraged of all of our students.”