Mascots play a vital role in school spirit and the identity of a school. These lovable characters serve as symbols of pride and unity for students, staff and the community. Mascots bring excitement to sporting events and school activities. Their presence not only energizes the crowd but also creates lasting memories and traditions.
From fierce lions to majestic hawks, mascots can be anything. However, creating a mascot for a school with a lightning bolt symbolcan be tricky. Mascots are a symbol for the community, but need to represent school spirit. So how do they decide?
Dr. Justin Colbert (he/him), Liberty High School Principal, who helped create the mascot, gives details about the process of creating a new mascot for the school.
“There was one student in particular that asked the question, ‘Hey, why don’t we have a mascot?’ I just said ’cause we’re the lightning, and they said ‘No like an actual mascot,’” said Colbert.
After that, there were various ideas, including a giant lightning bolt and a Flash-like character.
The final design features a race-neutral Zeus with purple skin and incorporates the Liberty crest into the belt. This design was chosen unanimously by a student committee. The mascot company, Bam Mascots, was commissioned to create the design.
Zeus was a popular choice when voting for the mascot. It was influenced by the Titans Trophy used in the annual football game against City High, which features a Zeus figure holding a lightning bolt. Funding for the mascot was a tough task, but the Booster Club, a club that supports athletic programs at Liberty High School, helped pay for the mascot.
After choosing a mascot, it was time to figure out who the mascot would be. Colbert sent out a form to all students to see who was interested in being the mascot.
“We sent out a form, and probably 15 or 16 students sent that out,” Dr. Colbert shared. “I sent out a note like Hey, here’s when we’re gonna meet and then eight or so people ended up actually showing up to the meeting.”
In that meeting, they discussed safety and what expectations they had for Zeus, but safety was always their priority. They decided the mascot is at least a two-person job, the mascot and the support person.
“It takes a two-person job to get all the mascot pieces on. And then the other aspect of it as well is you have limited vision, so having that support person by them can kind of help with the crowd control, or to help so they don’t walk and trip over a kid,” Colbert explains.
Students’ initial reactions to the brand-new mascot were generally positive. Bella Solis (she/her), 11, talks about her initial reaction to the unique mascot.
“I was shocked. My mouth was gaped. As one would say I was very surprised. But [I was] glad to know we have a mascot,” Solis said.
She also expressed that she was unsure how to feel at first but grew to like it.
Tayler Knight(she/her), 11, has worked closely on the field with the mascot while she dances for the football crowd.
“Zeus is a great addition to Liberty and I think he’ll take our school spirit to the next level,” states Knight.
Liberty is excited to see what will come next for Zeus.
