Apparently, George Washington is an offensive mascot. As reported by Campus Reform, students at George Washington University are petitioning to have the name changed on the grounds that the “Colonial” mascot may not be “the best identity for community school spirit.”

One of the students interviewed in the Campus Reform video claimed, “there are students on this campus who don’t feel comfortable with it, so then, it doesn’t really matter what other students think.” To me, this raises the question, how offended can someone really be? Didn’t they voluntarily enroll at GW knowing full well that the mascot is the “Colonial”?

By all means, let’s have the debate over “offensive” mascots. But arguing that some are offended does not really justify a change. For one, it ignores the opinions of those who don’t have a problem, or even like the mascot. And what’s more, those who are offended by the name are not obliged to attend an institution whose traditions make them uncomfortable. With some 5,300 colleges to choose from, enrollees are hardly coerced to study there.

The offended students would do well to remember that they chose to enroll at GW University, “Colonial” mascot and all. If they had any qualms about the mascot, they clearly weren’t that significant. By enrolling, those students implicitly ranked their discomfort with the school’s mascot on a lower rung when considering the myriad trade-offs prospective students face. Had it been an important enough issue, the students would have given better consideration to that factor when making their enrollment decision.

This is not to say that schools and teams shouldn’t undergo name changes. As the GW Libraries website points out, the “Colonials” was not the original name used to refer to GW’s sports teams and the school itself was not always George Washington University. But the decision should not hinge on the discomfort of a few students.

As for ascribing the “Colonial” mascot to GW sports teams, a 1926 editorial from the school newspaper, The Hatchet, offers a pretty solid explanation for the name:

What name could be more fitting? This, the school named after George Washington, and having as its colors the Continental Army buff and blue, the colors of Colonial America, should be entitled to bear the name of “Colonials” if any school is so entitled. George Washington University, in its antecedents, is a colonial school. Dating back to very early post-Revolutionary days, it was founded when the term “colonial” still applied to an era which was then passing. Let us then, in just regard for our precious heritage, adopt as the name for the warriors wearing the Buff and Blue the term “Colonials.”

Excerpt from an editorial in the Hatchet from October 27, 1926. Source: https://library.gwu.edu/scrc/university-archives/gw-history/nicknames-and-mascots