If you haven't watch the video yet, please do. If you have, then get ready to indulge yourself in the future of the Illini mascot.

As you heard, the three main points we can learn about Illinois' history with the mascot is how does the majority of the school feel, is it going to be done in the right way, and does the rest of the world agree. If you can answer "yes" to all three of these, then you have yourself a potential mascot. However, a fourth point one can add is it's relevance. In-order for a mascot to make logical sense, it must be relevant to the school yet, unique from the others. I think it's safe to say the further away from race/heritage, the better.

In the past, IUB meetings heard proposal of Illinois fighting Wolves. Now even though this does stray from potential exploitation of a group's heritage, it doesn't fit the relevance point. However say we take a more relevant icon to the state of illinois such as the eagle, we may be more in the ballpark. The bald eagle can be found on the Illinois state flag and offers great symbolism of freedom and courage. The bald eagle also is widely known and accepted in society as fair game for a mascot. A potential candidate for U of I's mascot.

However, we might find ourselves falling short of unique in the case of the "Illinois Fearless Eagles" or that alike. Many make the joke of something corn related, which yes is quite goofy, but they may be on to something. An animal in general is pretty exhaustive and over used, but if we are world renowned for our agricultural developement, maybe we follow along those lines. The Fighting Farmers has a nice ring to it. That even leaves room for fun chants like "WE. ARE. FARMERS. BUM BA-BUM BUM BUM BUM BUM!".

Assuming that wouldn't be a big hit among the university, we may need to think outside the box. A mascot we choose now sets up the foundation for the future generations at this school and beyond. Who is to say we must do what has been done before with animals and heritage. Perhaps, an entire new genre might be underway. Many are stuck with appealing to tradition, however, not much has been said about appealing to novelty. U of I's position may be the perfect moment to start developing the future of school mascoting and symbolism. Now, that is a debate far beyond me and you. That is a debate that must take time, adaptation and evolving. For, the next 5-10 years may introduce a whole new era of what it means to be an illini here at Illinois.

- Tommy Figel