In Pennsylvania, there’s a private college named after Benjamin Franklin and Supreme Court Justice John Marshall. It’s called Franklin & Marshall College.
So, it’s not all that surprising that the college’s mascots are two white dudes dressed in colonial-era garb named “Franklin” and “Marshall.”
But that’s a problem in this age of diversity hires – where skin color and chromosomes matter more than university namesakes.
That’s why college president Andrew Rich established a “Mascot Working Group” to replace Franklin and Marshall with mascots who would be deemed more “gender-neutral,” The College Fix reports.
Last year the campus newspaper, a breeding ground for woke journalists, published an anti-mascot screed titled, “Ben and John, It’s Time to Say Goodbye.”
The author argued that both Franklin and Marshall were “old white guys” and they were both racist.
In a time where we are surrounded by so much racism and sexism, it makes sense why we would want a break from old white guys from the 18th century. John Marshall was racist and fought to keep slavery in the United States, and while Benjamin Franklin was well known for being an abolitionist, he once owned slaves and held racist views too. As more people become aware of their racist histories, now seems like the right time for a mascot change. Franklin and Marshall founded our college, but our wonderful community can be represented by so much more than just their names. We are Diplomats, after all, and you don’t have to be the ghost of a white man to be a diplomat.
The author suggested a “fluffy blue monster” or a “classy cow” would be suitable replacements. Because nothing generate school spirit like a bloviating bovine.
In past years there was even talk about renaming the college, but that idea was shelved. Instead, the college formed a study group to “examine how slavery is represented on campus.”
Hopefully, slavery is not represented at all on campus – seeing how Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
“Franklin & Marshall takes very seriously our role in confronting systemic racism and the historical roots that continue to harm our society today,” the college said in a statement to Lancaster Online. “There is still a great deal of work to do, and we are eager to continue that work.”
The athletic teams at Franklin & Marshall are known as the Diplomats and the college hopes to introduce its new mascot by winter. It will no doubt be some sort of gender non-conforming, politically correct MOC (mascot of color).
Not very diplomatic if you ask me.
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