Everyone on campus knows about our mascot: the Avenging Angel. Launched in the fall of 2007, this mascot represents the strength and power of Meredith students. But the mascot has one fatal flaw—no one knows what it looks like. I’ve spent most of my time at Meredith wondering how in the world our school, filled with its quirky traditions (and t-shirts for every one of them), could neglect something so important.
The purpose of a mascot is to represent whatever entity they’re part of. A myriad of things could come to mind when one thinks “avenging angel.” With no visual reference point for what our mascot looks like, I have no choice but to believe that it simply doesn’t exist.
The mascot debacle impacts more of the campus than we all realize. Students who represent the College in athletic and academic events don’t have a standing symbol at their competitions. Not having a mascot means we lose out on a chance for campus unity.
Having a mascot would provide insight into what Meredith actually represents. Our Meredith’s angel has only been “avenging” since 2007, with our previous mascot being a stand-alone angel. But even then, there was no physical representation of what it looked like. The only depiction was the logo displaying an “M” inside of an angel wing.
Jean Jackson, Vice President for College Programs, told WRAL at the time that the name change was meant to show Meredith’s athletic teams “as agile, fierce, powerful, loyal, determined [and] complex warriors.” To this, I ask one question: what is agile, fierce, powerful, loyal, determined and complex about the letter M?
Grace Ledford, ‘25, has also seen these issues. Ledford has had school spirit since before coming to Meredith. She played basketball and volleyball in high school and is currently on Meredith’s basketball team. She soon realized that Meredith’s school spirit was lower than she’d seen before.
“At sporting events, especially because we’re so small, the lack of school spirit is more obvious,” she said.
At a volleyball game last semester, Ledford even dressed up as our mascot. She explained that the volleyball coaches found items for the mascot, but said that they hadn’t been used in years. “The sword was broken, and there weren’t any wings,” she said. The only resemblance of an angel was the bent halo.
Ledford explained that mascots are a key part of sports culture, and not having one is detrimental to a supportive environment.
“When you say [Avenging Angel], it sounds tough,” she said. “But in reality, we don’t have any representation of that.”
This shouldn’t be a question of whether we should have a mascot, it should be a question of how. My request is simple: give Meredith a mascot or get rid of it. It’s time we put our foot down on the angel and advocate for a mascot we can all get behind.
By Aminah Jenkins, Associate Editor