Growing up I was taught to love the Fighting Sioux and the legacy that came with it. I never envisioned myself at any other school besides the University of North Dakota. I grew up with the Sioux chants, the Jerseys, the Sioux memorabilia covering almost every inch of our basement, and of course the hockey (and the hate for the gophers that came with it). I loved the spirit that came with the name Fighting Sioux, and I still do. Recently the new Fighting Hawks Logo was released, and very little support was shown for it by students, alum, some faculty, and even the community. Here are a few reasons I believe why the logo just doesn’t work for UND.
1. The logo is far from intimidating
I know most students were not thrilled with the name change to Fighting Hawks, but the least they could give us was an intimidating Hawk logo…nope. That was apparently too much to ask for, seeing as the new logos hawk looks somewhat “pretty”. It doesn’t look much like a hawk, just kind of a bird stuck between two letters. How do you think rival schools are going to take us seriously when we have something that looks somewhat like a chicken plastered over everything?
2. The logo does not have much support
Going from the look of the Sioux to a logo that looks like I could’ve made just isn’t right. As a student who had no say in what the logo was to look like, I do not support it. This does not mean that I don’t support my school, I just don’t support some of the decisions it has made in this process. I am not proud to wear this logo and I am sure others agree. Now try to, envision that on a jersey...It just doesn’t work well. It is not an accurate representation of what this school has to offer. It would make a more accurate gas station sign, or even US Postal Service logo ;)
3. The logo doesn’t live up to the legacy
The Fighting Sioux logo wasn’t just a logo; it was a legacy. When compared to the Sioux logo or even the plain North Dakota letters logo, the Fighting Hawks looks like a downgrade. Even though the school paid more for this new Fighting Hawks logo than the Fighting Sioux one, it seems too simple. The old logo was one many students were proud to wear, and if you walk around campus you’ll still see more students wearing Sioux gear than Fighting Hawks apparel. UND had the opportunity to get student, alum, and the community on better terms with the new name and they failed. If they were to have asked for public opinion maybe the reaction to the logo wouldn’t have been so underwhelming. You can’t follow up a logo like the Fighting Sioux, that was loved so deeply by many, with something that is comparable to a chicken.
