Lucia Moschandreas ’30 is a prospective English major from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a tutor for Griffin School Partnerships and a member of Remote Area Medical and W&M’s Tri Delta chapter. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running and spending time with friends.
The views expressed in the article are the author’s own.
Despite boasting over 300 years of remarkable history and rich tradition, the College of William and Mary has yet to establish a truly iconic mascot. Since the long-overdue retirement of the Indian mascot in the 1980s, the College has struggled to meaningfully integrate its successor, the Griffin, into campus life. You’d be forgiven for forgetting we even have a mascot beyond our identity as “Tribe” — the Griffin barely appears on official merchandise and is largely absent from decorations around campus. The only well-known school initiative that incorporates the Griffin is the Good Griffin policy, which, while an important resource for student safety, hardly inspires school spirit.
Seemingly, we have a mascot in name but not really in practice. Oh, and speaking of names, did you know the Griffin actually has one? I didn’t either. Apparently, it was named Reveley in 2018 in honor of the College’s 27th president, Walter Taylor Reveley III, who had designated the Griffin as the College’s mascot back in 2010. That’s right: it took us eight years to give our official mascot a name.
You may be thinking, “So what?” Our general lack of enthusiasm for our mascot is hardly the College’s most pressing concern. Maybe our disregard of Reveley can be attributed to students simply having more important things to worry about, like the length of the Halal Shack line or how it’s somehow still midterm season. But I’d argue that this indifference is rather uncharacteristic of our passionate, spirited community. The library corgis have amassed over 2,500 followers on Instagram, and the sheep at the Earl Gregg Swem Library are placed in creative new poses nearly every day. Clearly, we know how to rally behind an animal. We even have entire clubs dedicated to niche interests like cheese-making and English country dance. If we can find people willing to come together for the sake of cheese, surely our official mascot deserves more than a perfunctory 137-word description on the College website.
Of course, giving Reveley a more prominent role does not mean we have to abandon our identity as the Tribe. The Griffin was actually selected as our mascot in part because of how well it complements our nickname. The strength of the lion and the keen intelligence of the eagle come together to form a creature greater than the sum of its parts, embodying the same unity in diversity that defines the Tribe. Reveley, if given more visibility, could become a recognizable symbol of the College, helping members of our community express their school spirit at sports games and other events. But building that type of connection requires a mascot who is familiar to students and seen as a fixture of campus life. And right now, poor Reveley has a long way to go.
Fortunately, all hope is not lost for the neglected Griffin. We have over three centuries of experience building traditions and developing campus culture, and we now have the chance to enrich that legacy by making Reveley a meaningful part of the College experience. Doing so would create a symbol that students and alumni can proudly identify with and strengthen the sense of belonging that is at the heart of our identity as a school — who comes here belongs here.
It’s time to give Reveley the recognition and respect a mascot deserves, and that starts with increasing his visibility around campus. We could build this association by having someone wearing the Griffin costume appear more frequently during campus tours and new student orientation. The Griffin could be incorporated into more of our regular merchandise, too, helping students connect him with the College and giving them a symbol to express their school spirit. Reveley should also make appearances at smaller student events, not just high-profile ones like Opening Convocation and Homecoming. Seeing him more often would give students more opportunities to interact with him and make him a familiar part of everyday campus life.
Reveley should be more than a feature on one of our more obscure logos; he should be a familiar face in the community he represents and one our student body can rally behind. Our mascot deserves more from us, and we deserve more from our mascot.
