The Issues of Our Times

From the desk of William & Mary President Taylor Reveley:

Dear William & Mary Community,

We have the Tribe to unite us, but no mascot at the moment. Let’s find one and have fun while we search!

Terry Driscoll, director of athletics, will chair a committee charged with seeking and reviewing mascot ideas from William & Mary alumni, students, faculty, and staff. Committee members have set up a website where they’ll take suggestions and report on their progress.

Do visit www.wm.edu/mascot to submit your mascot ideas and see how the search is going.

It will be great if the mascot is ready to roll at some point next fall, perhaps by Homecoming.

Taylor Reveley

Dear President Reveley:

We appreciate the critical and diverse nature of the challenges facing The College in a time of fiscal crisis and deep uncertainty. It is precisely our understanding of these issues that gives us cause to celebrate your priorities. Truly, only a man with a deeply Gheorgian sense of the value of the inane and silly would be compelled to move forward on something of this micromagnitude. And for that, sir, we humbly salute you.

Oh, and we've got some ideas. One idea, really, and a caution.

As you well know, we've been at the forefront of the Draft the Wrens movement for some time now. (Liberties taken with the terms, 'draft' and 'movement'. Also 'the'.) The wren has both obvious geocultural relevance and a noted poet-warrior spirit. W&M could do worse. And, frankly, we fear that it will. GTB's own sociological expert, TR (nee Rhymenocerous) implores you to avoid the obvious trap, noting "The mascot is going to end up being an unattractive lesbian who hangs out in the smoking section of Swem Library."

We know you're a busy man, so we'll waste no more of your time. We conclude by once again saluting your wisdom and offering our wholehearted support. Unless you want us to actually do something, in which case, good luck with buying remaindered Gunston costumes from George Mason.

Hark upon the Gale,

The Gheorghe: The Blog Editorial Staff

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Important and related addendum:

The Fighting Wrens close out what can only be described as a disappointing 2008-09 campaign tomorrow evening, hosting Drexel in Williamsburg. W&M is 9-19, 4-13 in conference play, and has sewn up the 11th seed in next week's CAA tournament. FOGTB Michael Litos is projecting a first-round matchup against Hofstra, a matchup the bodes extremely poorly for the good guys. Guessing now, but we really need JMU to win and Hofstra to lose (at home, against woeful UNCW) to have a shot at the Dukes next Friday. On the bright side, W&M took off like a very slow, white bat out of hell last season when we started calling them the Wrens, so look for fortunes to reverse immediately.