CASE 2 - Benny the Bengal, Bronze or Paper Mache?

        Another large topic of the branding of the university is its mascot, Benny the Bengal. Though the real mascot is always causing a riot with his fun antics this study will focus on two different statutes of the mascot: The first is the statue that was formerly found in front to Reed gym and the second is the bronze statue that currently resides in front of the Pond Student Union building face the quad. These two Bengals have been thrown into a territorial war of the past and the future.

        As mentioned prior the first statue stood in front of Reed gym was constructed by Charles “Chuck” Koval sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s as a papier-mâché float in the ISU Homecoming Parade for the College of Technology . However on July 9, 2013 the Bengal was removed for safety and maintenance issues. At first the decision by ASISU was met with large opposition, largely from past students of ISU. The intent of the removal was “in the spirit of preservation, it’s not meant to be malicious or anti-ISU,” ASISU President Bloxham said. “We want to preserve the history and culture of ISU .”  The resolution to move the paper mache Bengal was put through the ASISU senate prior to the removal because of the installation of the newer bronze Bengal behind the Pond Student Union.  

        When considering the amount of opposition that went on about the removal of the paper mache statue most of it came from alumni. K.C. Felt, executive director of alumni relations at ISU stated that, “Whatever we do, we want to try and have something that we can recognize for homecoming and then put a timeline on it. We want to engage all of the constituencies and the community as well. It’s a landmark in Pocatello.” As can be seen that to the alumni the statue held much importance and was a symbol of the culture of ISU. Too many alumni and community members the statue was a symbol of a strong tradition of ISU however “Tradition is really important to ASISU,” Bloxham said, in rebuttal to some accusations.

        The comparison of the coverage’s between the two different medias was very noticeable in this event. The student news media was less inquisitive and not as considerate of the long reaching effects of the removal of the Bengal. On the other end, the community media was very in-depth and had at least source quoted sources on the issue. There were more stories published by the ISJ and with much more detail of the past, present, and future of the icon when the student media focused on the past and present and little of the future. It is clear that student opinion on the paper mache Bengal was not voiced due to the lack of interest in the issue as student. There was a lot of talk the social medias but nothing was developed from these forums.

Now in comparison to the removal of the old Bengal a deeper understanding will be explored on the newer bronze Bengal. The coverage of the new bronze Bengal by the student media out weights the community media. Since the unveiling of the bronze Bengal on October 24, 2012 there have been six stories published by student media where the bronze Bengal has played some sort of role . The community media was yet to run a story on the bronze Bengal.  In a personal interview with Shaun Stokes, former ASISU president responsible for the erection of the Bengal, he stated, “The bronze Bengal allows students to feel pride in where they go to school. I am definitely talking bad about the paper mache Bengal but I do feel like the bronze Bengal gives a sense of long-standing pride.”  It is this idea of long standing pride that has lead student to the creation of new tradition and the betterment of the future. Lowell Richards, ASISU general manager and assistant vice president for student affairs explained how the bronze Bengal became a reality. “One-and-a-half to two years ago, ASISU voted to dedicate some funds to install a bronze Bengal tiger. They had the idea and the vision and they made it work .” It is interesting to find that again the ASISU created another change in university identity.

        The president that followed Shaun Stokes, Matt Bloxman expressed “students tend to establish their own traditions,” and he hoped that the unveiling of the Bengal would lead to new traditions focused around the statue [10]. As time can tell it has. An article published by The Bengal  outlining different traditions that had developed over the fifty year that Idaho State has been a university one of the traditions mentioned was the myth of being an Ultimate Bengal, Bengal Tamer or Taming the Bengal, has various explanations. Angel Zamora, ASISU Vice-President explained, “From what I’ve heard, one version is that you spend the night on the Bengal and sleep there,” Zamora continued with “I don’t know if people actually do that. But then I’ve also heard of another where you ride the Bengal with no clothes on.” It is remarkable that in a years’ time of being erected the bronze Bengal has a tradition where it is that center of the action. It is also important to mention that the bronze Bengal has become the icon and centralized logo of many ISU catalogs and pamphlets.

       

        The final piece of evidence that stands as a tribute of the new status that the bronze Bengal has gained was shown in a beautification project done by students for students. During the summer of 2013 Benjamin Harker, ASISU Senator and other students lead a project to beautify the bronze Bengal. Of the project Harker said, “The entire purpose of this [project] was with the students in mind. [It aimed for] something not only beautiful to look at but a real, permanent monument to highlight ISU’s majesty, you know, this is great. It’s something everyone can be proud of .” This idea of pride has been shown through the testimonies of several different individuals, actions, and symbols.

Conclusion:

In this case study it was found that students are more focused on future than they are the past however they desire strong symbols of the tradition that is ISU. The student opinion of the university was greatly increase by the placement of the newer bronze Bengal. The newer Bengal has instilled more visual inspiration as well as a stronger feeling of pride in the university. It was also found that actions taken by the ASISU towards changing image of the university take time but in the end yield a good result. There was not enough evidence to conclude that the older Bengal removal what a factor in affecting students but it was a physical change that affected alumni and older students of the university.