The expansive lobby of Bowdoin's new hockey rink will be centered around a large granite oval engraved with the mascot of the College, the polar bear. The only question is: Which one?
Since its adoption as the official school mascot in 1913, Bowdoin has seen dozens of polar bear logos adopted by campus groups, the College, and different athletic teams.
In the last decade, for example, "we've had about six or seven different football helmets at Bowdoin," said Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Scott Hood.
"While variety is great, that kind of variety makes it difficult to establish an identity," Hood said.
Director of Athletics Jeff Ward agreed. "When there is nothing official, it sort of becomes the creativity of the moment and [the logo] will sort of morph from design to design," Ward said.
"Coming up with something we're happy with and will use for a long time is what we would like to do," he added. "We've actually been talking for a while about the fact that we needed to do something about the mascot."
But the hockey rink's impending completion is "what is driving us to finally try and come up with something for athletics," Hood explained.
"We thought that we ought to take a stab at engaging the community to come up with something that is truly representative of the College mascot and that reflects well on the College and on the Athletic department," Hood said in an interview. He emphasized that this logo would be specifically for athletics and that campus groups could continue creating and utilizing their own specialized depictions of polar bears.
According to Hood, a committee of students, coaches, and administrators was formed to examine the issue, and a design firm, Morrow Creative Group, has been hired to create some options for a new polar bear logo. They were on campus this week soliciting input from students, faculty, athletic staff, trustees, and President Barry Mills.
Once the firm comes up with some potential options for an official athletic logo, these ideas will be shared with the community, Hood said.
Some of the current polar bear logos are not particularly well-liked.
The running, smiling polar bear, which is heavily used in athletics, is seen by some as a poor representation of the arctic predator.
"I've heard people say that athletes don't like this one because it is too cartoonish, too friendly, and it looks like it's running away," Hood said.
"For as long as I've been here, the running polar bear with the smiley face...has not been well-loved," Ward said.
Overall, however, students tend to see the polar bear as a strong mascot.
"Compared to other NESCAC schools, I think we have one of the better mascots because the polar bear has admirable and redeeming qualities," Margo Linton '08, co-captain of the women's volleyball team, said.
Linton was one of the students who the Morrow Creative Group consulted.
"One thing about all the NESCAC mascots is that they are original," Linton continued. "The polar bear is still original but it's not something that has no athletic qualities."
Other NESCAC schools' mascots include the Connecticut College Camels, the Tufts Jumbos (elephants), the Colby Mules, and the Williams Purple Cows.
"Truly at Bowdoin, the polar bear is unique because it has a lot of meaning?tying it to Peary and MacMillian and Arctic exploration," Ward said. "Most places don't have a mascot that has that much depth to it."
He added, "And it's certainly a lot cooler than a purple cow."