Timmy Freese ’14: This year’s Haverford/AIS weekend welcomed a new, yet aged, face to Spirit Week. Willy White, the school’s new mascot unveiled himself to the student body during the pep rally on Friday.
Taking the spot of our old mascot, the “Churchmouse,” Willy White has strikingly similar features to the founder of the school, Bishop William White, as well as to the current school chaplain, Reverend James Squire.
When asked about the new mascot, Reverend Squire replied, “I think he’s a great addition to our school’s spirit.”
Jack Keffer ’14, close friends with Willy remarked, “Willy is a better mascot because the Churchmouse was originally created as an insult to our school. I think Willy will be able to bring more spirit, more unity, and more pride to our school.”
Much of the student body agrees with Keffer. John Minicozzi ‘15 stated, “I like the change because we’ve gone from something that was meant to degrade our school and we now have a mascot we can be proud of.”
As Ayo Maja ’14 put it, “We no longer keep Haverford’s mockery of us alive through the Churchmouse.”
But how exactly was this change brought about?
When the EAPAAA presented the student body with the challenge of designing a new mascot, Tyler Haab ’14 and Evan Butts ’14 had no reservations about submitting an idea. Haab and Butts’s Willy White mascot “epitomizes EA’s spirit,” according to Keffer.
When asked where he got the inspiration for the design, Haab explained, “Evan and I thought about our school’s Episcopalian roots and how this defines the core of our school and we wondered how we could capture this feeling through a costume.”
He continued, “The answer to the question was a Reverend, more specifically, Willy White. Evan and I thought that the mascot definitely had to share features from both Bishop White and Reverend Squire.”
Butts remarked, “When we thought of the Churchmen, a few ideas came to mind but we liked the Bishop Willy White idea because it has a tradition in our school. But we also wanted to make him more intimidating, so we added a shield and some muscles.”
Butts elaborated, noting, “Our mascot is a lot better than the mouse because of the history it has but also because it depicts someone deserving of the mascot. Tyler and I wanted to use EA’s history as well as make a universal symbol that people would recognize when they think about EA.”
Many students note the change in the atmosphere of sporting events thanks to the new mascot.
Daniel Saedi ’13 remarked, “He brings new energy to EA Athletics that the mouse didn’t offer and he makes us feel more legitimate as a sport program.”
It would appear that Willy White has settled into the athletic program quite nicely. Keffer noted that Willy will soon be getting a mask to protect his identity because, as Keffer puts it, “He’s the hero EA needs, but also the hero EA deserves.”