Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 bobby -290 DD L

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phasing out Bobby Bearcat through the ages After 91 years, the University had phased out the cartoon logo of the school ' s symbol, the Bearcat. Focusing marketing efforts towards the bearcat paw displaying an N in the center, officials in the University ' s ath- letic department did away with the logo of Bobby Bearcat wearing a sweatshirt. Since everyone who are fans or alumni and people who know North- west, the one thing that they think of is the paw, even though Bobby is an athletic symbol as well, Morris White, athletic marketing, promotions and licensing said. The paw is the most recognizable thing when you talk about athletics or not. The University trademarked both the Bobby Bearcat logo and the paw logo to avoid infringement. Phasing out the Bearcat logo gradu- ally began in 2006. White said phasing out the Bobby Bearcat logo eliminated confusion over the primary logo for Northwest athletics. When news broke to eliminate the logo. University students and members of the Maryville community, were not happy to see it go. That ' s not even cool, Mason Becker said. Bobby Bearcat ' s our mas- cot, they can ' t just take away the symbol of him. Word spread fast prompting two groups on facebook.com and a Web site, savebobby.com. The Facebook group Bobby Stays or We Go saw over 1,000 members in 24 hours and over 2,100 members total. The mass attention over the situa- tion sparked a visit by White and athlet- ics director Bob Boerigter at a University student senate meeting. Boerigter began the presentation by acknowledging the positive and nega- tive feedback he had received about the controversial decision. It doesn ' t make a difference if the issues are large or small; people care, Boerigter said. KQ2, a St. Joseph TV news station and a handful of students attended the meeting. Nic Brent, questioned the athletic department ' s judgment on the decision. I just feel like [the Bobby logo] has been such a big part of our tradition, and 1 don ' t understand why suddenly there ' s such a need to get rid of it, Brent said. Given the events surrounding the phasing out of the cartoon Bobby Bearcat logo. University President Dean Hubbard said he supported Boerigter and the department ' s decision to move forward. Anytime you deal with symbols, then the very first reaction to a symbol or a change in a symbol, is an emotional one, Hubbard said. Hubbard said this is a non-issue since cartoon Bobby Bearcat was not be- ing eliminated completely. Bobby Bearcat will still be around and presumably over time, the costume will change, and people will draw, dif- ferent artists will draw different render- ings of what a bearcat would look like, Hubbard said. w • Evan Young and Dominic Genetti d ■ Erik Schrader 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 028 ■ student life

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technically deprived for 48 hours Technology and striving for what is better, more economical, safer and faster has dominated the world. Every aspect of American life is inundated by techno- logical advances. Every where people turn they can see computers and robots, students walking through campus with cell phones and iPod ear phones stuffed in their ears who avoid eye contact and social interactions by muting out the sounds from the outside world with art- ists like Kelly Clarkson, Good Charlotte, Soulja Boy or Disturbed. People depended daily, hourly on the assistance and security technology offered. But it ' s nothing that ' s needed to actually physically survive. Maybe that ' s why it sounded like fun to ask four re- porters to try and go without technology for two days. Two days, 48 hours. A person can do anything, or without anything in this case, for two days - can ' t they? In theory, with the correct amount of per- severance and dedication. Otherwise thev have little bends, big breaks in their efforts to go without. That ' s what hap- pened - no one made it. Technology was so important, so intrinsic that everyone used some form of advancements that was specifically outlined in the do not use list, at least once. The experiment was to try and re- turn to a more simple time when there were fewer distractions and the average attention span was longer then seven to 10 minutes between commercial breaks. Technology is a huge part of our culture in this time period. Without it the world seems unnecessarily quiet at times and void of distractions. While in theory two days with books, homework and napping instead of facebook.com and myspace.com, tele- vision sitcoms or the constant ringing of a cell phone should have had a calming effect, it was the opposite. It was tiring in that same way you feel when setting down a book after more reading than you intended, rubbing the bridge of your nose, feeling strain in your eyes, hearing silence echo through your head. w ■ Kate Hall d ■ Erik Schrader DaO ■ student life DD