Last Friday, amid fervid clamor in the Simon Theatre, the long-awaited Mercersburg mascot reveal finally took place. As the Blue Storm logo came into view on the colossal projector screen superimposed on a raging thunderstorm, an outburst of cheering and applause issued from the passionate crowd. The commotion eventually culminated with the emergence of the new mascot from the darkness, unveiling itself to be an Eagle.
When asked why an eagle, Associate Head of School Jennifer Craig said, “The Blue Storm manifested itself mostly as a 2-D representation of a lightning bolt or two words on a sign. It's hard to argue that it was a mascot in the most traditional sense. The school was looking for a more concrete and united representation of something we strive to be.”
“One of the first steps we took was to survey our entire Mercersburg community to get their input. We looked at each and talked about which animals are native to our region and whether they had characteristics that paired well with Storm. That led us to the three original candidates. The Eagle received the majority of votes,” said Head of School Quentin McDowell.
History department member David Bell said, “The Blue Storm is fine as a mascot, but because it's not as tangible as animals or most other symbols it can be a bit confusing when people ask ‘What's a Blue Storm?’ I'm happy with the eagle, as I prefer the imagery associated with eagles.”
Students had much to say about the mascot. “I feel like the wolf and the mustang wouldn’t accurately represent the school. The eagle would be the perfect mascot for Mercersburg because of its relationship to the storm,” said Jinn Phakam ‘26. “I think the eagle and the Blue Storm are a great combination because they are both in the sky,” said Yuma Matsuo ‘25.
“I'm happy with the eagle. The logic and reasoning behind the choice seems sound… but I sort of wanted to keep Blue Storm,” said Leah Willis ‘24.
Some students favored other candidates over the eagle. Annie Wu ‘27 said, “I believe that [the eagle] is a more commonly used mascot than wolves, and hence I like the wolves more—the eagles are banal. I prefer the wolves also because they live in packs, which embodies team spirit.”
A few faculty members taught at Mercersburg in the days of the Blue Devils - the athletic identity but unofficial school mascot, among them, math teacher Andy Schroer. “I was okay with the image and nickname of the Blue Devils. I understood why the school felt the need to change the nickname. Among the three candidates, I didn't have a favorite, though eagle or wolf were ahead of mustang, because mustang is the mascot for a local elementary school,” he said.
“I was fine with the Blue Devil because it was the mascot for at least my first ten years here. The Blue Storm did not appeal to me that much. Out of all the candidates, my favorite was the eagle. I like all birds of prey,” said Jim Malone, science and mathematics teacher.
Science teacher Dave Holzwarth ‘78 said, “I'm cool with the eagle/Storm brand. Being a physics teacher, it's important to note that storm events and thermals are an eagle's best friend for migration and staking out territory.”
Amid a medley of opinions, it is hard to condense every sentiment into one all-encompassing consensus. Whether the eagle will prove to be the appropriate mascot for Mercersburg will be up to the community to decide.