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George Washington University has changed its moniker to Revolutionaries, something which has left the netizens appalled. The news was announced on May 24, via a statement issued by President Mark S. Wrighton. The new name, Revolutionaries, will be used instead of Colonials, which had been the sports team's name since 1926.
The statement by President Wrighton read:
"This is an exciting day for the George Washington University Revolutionaries. I am very grateful for the active engagement of our community throughout the development of the new moniker. This process was truly driven by our students, faculty, staff and alumni, and the result is a moniker that broadly reflects our community—and our distinguished and distinguishable GW spirit."
Last year, officials decided to get rid of the old name because they thought it no longer brought the community together.
In 2018, George Washington University was under pressure to devise a strategy to eliminate the Colonials' moniker. Over 530 students said that the name "Colonists" was "extremely offensive" and "has too deep of a connection to colonization and glorifies the act of systemic oppression."
However, as soon as the name changed, netizens were left appalled with one of them tweeting:
Twitter reacts to George Washington University's mascot name change
After the announcement that George Washington University is changing its mascot's name from Colonials to Revolutionaries went viral, Twitterati was shocked. Several users were not happy with the new name and suggested others while slamming the university officials for changing the name because of some students.
Others slammed the authorities for being woke and changing its mascot's name, which had been since 1926.
In a press release shared on May 24 on George Washington University's website, the school committee said that after getting 8,000 ideas and 47,000 points of feedback, they picked the 10 best names.
Announcing the new name, the university shared a video on its social media pages which open with its alumnus Chuck Todd hosting it like breaking news style. In the video, Todd posed a question to the audience, asking them to guess the name of the group.
The options provided were the Ambassadors, Blue Fog, Revolutionaries, or Sentinels. As the audience pondered the possibilities, the video transitioned to various clips showcasing the campus and iconic scenes from Washington D.C. Finally, the moment arrived as the name "Revolutionaries" displayed in the sky with a dazzling display of fireworks.
According to the university website, "George" will continue to serve as the mascot for George Washington University.
George Washington is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference and competes in various sports. In recent times, the swimming and diving teams have been enjoying glory.
The men's team secured three consecutive titles, while the women's team has emerged as winners in two consecutive championships. In 2016, the NIT championship was won by the men's basketball team.
