A University of Iowa professor believes the school’s Tigerhawk mascot, unchanged since it was first introduced in 1948, is too angry-looking and should be softened so as not to cause undue stress for incoming students.
In an email to UI’s athletic department, Resmiye Oral, a clinical professor of pediatrics, said the mascot’s angry face is an “invitation to aggressivity and even violence” that is “not compatible with the verbal messages that we try to convey and instill in our students and campus community.
“I believe incoming students should be met with welcoming, nurturing, calm, accepting and happy messages,” said, according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Oral also passed along her feedback to the school’s Faculty Senate.
In a phone interview with the paper, Oral said her intention isn’t to eliminate any sign of Herky’s competitive spirit but simply to increase the range of emotions he displays through facial expression. Images of Herky off the field could perhaps be a little bit less intimidating, she said.
In her letter to fellow members of the faculty, she said Herky’s current face is “totally against the nonviolent, all-accepting, nondiscriminatory messages we are trying to convey through campus.
“As we strive to tackle depression, suicide, violence and behavioral challenges and help our students succeed, I plead with you to allow Herky to be like one of us, sometimes sad, sometimes happy, sometimes angry, sometimes concentrated,” she wrote.
Representatives from both the Faculty Senate and the Athletics department told the Press-Citizen that they were considering Oral’s concerns and would respond.
