WHEREAS The name "Colonials" has been the official nickname of The George Washington University, “the University” or “GW”, since 1926;

 

WHEREAS In April of 2018, three students launched a petition on the Student Association (SA) advocacy website, GW Voice, calling on the University administration to consider the offensive nature of the “Colonial” mascot, stating in their petition that it acts as an “extremely offensive” symbol that “glorifies the act of systematic oppression”;

 

WHEREAS The petition hit the 500 signature threshold, prompting a response from SA leadership May 6 of 2018;

 

WHEREAS The student leadership of GW Students for Indigenous and Native American Rights (SINAR) spoke in support of the petition;

 

WHEREAS The term “Colonial” is a major part of daily life at the University, from Colonial Army to Colonial Health Center to Colonial Printing. “Colonials” has a significant presence at GW and is not something that is easily ignorable to those who don’t feel comfortable with the name;

WHEREAS The term is used throughout admissions in taglines such as “Become a Colonial”, possibly influencing students who feel put off by the moniker to choose a school with a more inclusive identity;

 

WHEREAS Native American student enrollment has dropped by over half in the last 10 years, from 153 students enrolled in 2009, to only 63 in 2018;

 

WHEREAS The Athletics Department changed the fall pep rally formerly known as the “Colonial Invasion” to “Colonial Madness” in 2015. It was then changed again this past year to “GDub Madness”, signifying a conscious effort to create more inclusive spirit events here on campus by distancing themselves from “Colonials”;

 

WHEREAS Students who do not feel comfortable with any facet of colonialism, historical or conceptual, should not have to choose between school pride and their own identities;

 

WHEREAS According to 2018 data from GW’s Office of Institutional Research and Planning, there are 4,009 international students enrolled at GW, both graduate and undergraduate. This is nearly double the overall international student enrollment in 2009 (2,298). Additionally, the undergraduate international population alone has more than doubled in that same time;

 

WHEREAS The way individuals identify with “Colonials” is influenced by the historical context in which colonialism engaged their ethnic and racial identity. International students at GW bring international context to “Colonials” where the narrative often highlights unequal power dynamics. Domestic African American and Native American students may also affiliate the colonial with a history of exclusion and oppression.;

 

WHEREAS the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE) defines inclusion, in part, as “active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity”;    

 

WHEREAS the ODECE stated in regards to their Response Action Plan that GW is “committed to comprehensive, intentional change and improvement; ongoing efforts are required from all members of the GW community to make the university the kind of pre-eminent institution to which we aspire, one where all of us are valued, respected and embraced for who we are and the perspectives and experiences we bring”;

    

WHEREAS The current moniker of our University, the “Colonials”, is not indicative of our mission statement and does not foster inclusivity amongst the whole of our student body;

 

WHEREAS Community and school spirit should be egalitarian concepts where no one group has an advantage over another. “Colonials” does not provide this space, implying hierarchies based on race and ethnicity that have been historically enforced through violence and oppression;

 

WHEREAS The SA has put on multiple events to gauge student opinion, including a Diversity Summit discussion in the fall of 2018, as well as a Faculty Panel on Feb. 6, 2019;

 

WHEREAS Some faculty feel alienated by the moniker, with Liberata Mulamula, a former Tanzanian ambassador to the United States and current GW professor, saying she was upset to see the University’s connection to the term because her home country was negatively affected by colonialism;

 

WHEREAS Many notable universities have administered official mascot changes in response to their offensive nature, including but not limited to:
 

Stanford University - “Indians” to “Cardinal” (1972)
Dartmouth University - “Indians” to “Big Green” (1974)

Seattle University - “Chieftains” to “Redhawks” (2000)

Arkansas State University - “Indians” to “Red Wolves” (2008)

Southeastern Oklahoma State University - “The Savages” to “The Savage Storm” (2013-2014)
North Dakota University - “Fighting Sioux” to “Fighting Hawks” (2015);

 

WHEREAS Three years ago, Amherst College removed “Lord Jeff” as its mascot. Named after Lord Jeffery Amherst, an 18th-century British general who sought to infect Native Americans with smallpox;

 

WHEREAS Alvernia University changed their mascot from “Crusaders” to “Golden Wolves” on the grounds that “there was a lot of prejudice and persecution associated with the Crusades, and that’s not what Alvernia stands for”. Alvernia University utilized a 22 member task force made up of students, faculty, alumni, trustees, parents, and more to come to this decision;

 

WHEREAS The process of evaluating new monikers through the implementation of a task force that takes a cross section of individuals from the University community has been a successful path for many comparable institutions;

 

WHEREAS The shift from Colonials is an opportunity to choose a symbol for the GW community, which better aligns with the University’s values; and

 

WHEREAS This referendum will provide indication of student enthusiasm for changing the name from “Colonials” to any one of a variety of possible replacements to be considered in the future.
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BE IT RESOLVED That the SA Senate believes not all students feel represented by the moniker and team name of “Colonials” and that it does not contribute to an inclusive environment for school spirit;

 

BE IT RESOLVED That the SA Senate urges the University to recognize they have a duty to the student body to further consider this issue due to the student supported petition from April of 2018;

 

BE IT RESOLVED That the SA Senate calls on the University to immediately form a task force made up of a cross section of the GW community to evaluate replacements to “Colonials”, following the student passing of this referendum; and

 

BE IT RESOLVED That the SA Senate (two-thirds of the members present concurring therein) calls a referendum asking the student body,  

 

“Should the moniker Colonials, and any variations of the term, be removed on the grounds that the term does not represent the student body as a whole and be replaced by a term that further aligns with our University’s institutional values?”

 

with the options for answers as,

 

“Yes, the term Colonials should be removed and replaced”;

“No, the term Colonials should not be removed and replaced”.