Are we the Bobcats or the Violets? Are we a carnivorous feline or a pretty flower? I, like many of you, don’t really know. But, for the sake of this post, I did a little research.

NYU lore has it that we used to be the Violets, a name fashioned after our school color, which in turn was taken from the violets that grew in Washington Square Park. We even used to have someone dress up as a flower, with leaves for arms, a skintight green bodysuit, and a necklace of purple petals (sadly, no photo evidence can be found). But then, the powers that be at NYU decided to scrap our flower for a more awe-inspiring replacement: our library catalog.

Yes, the ugly, red, “spiked-floor” behemoth that is our library was the inspiration for the lovable (and huggable) Bobcat. The yet-to-be-named Bobcat (its name’s up for a vote on the NYU Athletics homepage) has been a part of our university for over twenty years, taking part in countless sports games and even ballroom dances. And for what it’s worth, I think we should change our mascot. Again.

Bring back the Violet.

Why? Because it’s just really weird. What other school in the nation has a flower as its mascot? NYU is a school that doesn’t fit the established norms, and the Violet as a mascot would certainly further this. Plus, it would be hilarious (and somewhat disturbing) to see someone dressed up as a flower at sports games. It would be even better if NYU reestablished the football team. Then we’d have a Violet prancing around a football field. The image just screams NYU.

The Bobcat was created to fix something that didn’t need fixing. It was created because the Violet failed to be badass, and so we wanted to change our image. But does that really matter? We’re not a big sports school and we’re not particularly badass anyway. Why the need for this tough image at a school where the students couldn’t care less?

Bring back the Violet.

Photo by Michael Stasiak.