What do Armadillos, Jaguars, Firebirds, Vacqueros, Stars and Chupacabras have in common? They are all student suggestions for the future Austin Community College mascot that made into an exclusive list of 57 favorites.
This last September, ACC Board of Trustees began an ambitious search for the ultimate ACC mascot.
"It will give the student body something they can identify with: a symbol that will help to build an ACC culture, and to which the students can relate with and create a sense of student identity in the ACC community" said Mascot Search Committee Chair, Avy Gonzalez.
The committee started the Web site: austincc.edu/mascot, on which more than 1000 suggestions where made by students last semester. The committee is taking several steps toward a final decision. Twenty semi-finalists will be made public in two or three weeks. The mascots were chosen by the Board of Trustees in cooperation with the Mascot Committee.
"The first step consisted in eliminating the options already taken by nearby universities and high schools in respect to those institutions. The second was to drill the mascots that represent ACC's essence. That's where we are at right now," said Brette Lea, Executive Director of Public Information and College Marketing.
The students will be able to vote online only once for their favorites. The committee will eliminate the less popular choices gradually until there are only three to five finalists. Lea encourages the students to participate and vote.
"The whole process will be available online. We want the students to be part of the choice," Lea said.
The final decision though lays on the hands of the Board of Trustees through a process that will involve focus group researches and a student vote. The board and the committee will chose the winner and reveal it to ACC students in April, but the design won't be revealed to the general public until the fall semester.
"After the mascot is chosen, the design process will take at least three months," Lea said.
"Intramural sports require T-shirts and uniforms. We don't have anything to put on them yet, but we soon will," Gonzalez said. "The mascot is going to give ACC sports a whole new community feel."
But the motivation behind the search for a mascot goes beyond team spirit. For Lea, it is all about starting a new ACC tradition that will hopefully affect the ACC community throughout it's seven campuses.
"We think of the mascot not only as a wonderful way to build school spirit, but more important, as a way to tell the high school students that college is an option," Lea said.
The semi-finalist suggestions are still top secret.
"We don't want to influence the students opinions, so I'll keep that information," Gonzalez said.
Students will have to wait a couple of weeks before the finalist election starts. Gonzalez does, however, eliminate some options.
"The zombie wasn't a popular option," Gonzalez said. "There were a lot of suggestions that wouldn't stand a chance, because there is not much people can relate with as far as Austin and the ACC community goes."
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!