By James Herold
Grand Rapids Community College was founded in 1914, and was the first community college in the state of Michigan. But since then one thing has remained a mystery, what is a GRCC Raider?
GRCC has gone through a few different mascots. The first being a character resembling a Civil War soldier with a mustache, which is still featured on the GRCC baseball team’s caps. The second being a fedora wearing Raccoon. The Racoon itself is also wearing a trench coat with a white button-down shirt and what appears to be a satchel.
“Often mistaken for a Scrubbing Bubble or Keystone Kop, the baseball mascot was modeled after a Union soldier. Webb Marris drew the split-chinned character with a mega-mustache in 1961 while working as a cartoonist for the college’s student newspaper, “The Junior Collegiate.”
“The second mascot was a raccoon which looked like the adventurous tomb raider, Indiana Jones, and even featured a fedora. In 2001, the Grand Rapids Press interviewed then-GRCC President Juan Olivarez about the raccoon mascot, which appeared to be a Dumpster-diving scavenger donning a fedora. At the time, Olivarez said, “The scavenging is really a survival skill,” admitting that some of the raccoon’s annoying traits came up in mascot planning discussions, but the positive attributes outweighed the negative. “I think a lot of people are fascinated by raccoons,” Olivarez said.
GRCC spent $7,500 on the raccoon version of the Raider, but his mascot days were short-lived as it was just a matter of time before he was quietly retired.
Most recently, GRCC a lion logo has been popping up around campus, which is believed to have been inspired by the lion fountain at the Juan Olivarez Plaza seating area outside the south end entrance to Raleigh J Finkelstein Hall (RJF).
Mary Slafkosky, GRCC Vice President for College Advancement gave some insight on the history of GRCC’s mascot
“GRCC in 2001 hired a local advertising company to design a mascot with an Indiana Jones-inspired raccoon. The design never became popular with students and was quietly retired in 2012. Our student body is the visible reflection of what a Raider is and the spirit of Raider Nation, whether determined, resilient, creative, successful, etc.”
She also explained how having a mascot can benefit our campus., “…the basketball team began calling itself the Raiders based on its wild fans,” Slafkosky stated. “The football team picked up on the name the following year, followed by the rest of the athletic teams. A college mascot becomes a recognizable symbol for the college – on campus and in the community… Mascots provide entertainment and build spirit at campus and community events. Mascots add personification of the college brand. The best college mascots provide marketing and public relations opportunities.
Slafkosky provided a TikTok video from Oct. 14, 2022, which shows GRCC social media staff interviewing students on what they think should be a Raider.
The Collegiate recently went out and asked students what they think a Raider is, too
Mariana Zaragoza, 18, an exercise science major, knows this much about GRCC’s mascot: “It’s a Raider,” Zaragoza said. “I believe they changed it to a lion or it’s a raccoon.”
She said she feels like a Raider best describes a raccoon but thinks that a lion is the best mascot to represent our school.
“I feel like the raccoon fits the Raider the best but I like the lion the best because raccoons are chunky,”
Natalie Brown, 18, a theater major from Ada, knew we had a mascot name but not an actual mascot.
“We have a name but not the actual mascot,” Brown said, “The Raiders.”
Brown thought the Raider represented a combined energy. “It had a connotation of a combined energy,” she said. It’s a shared high energy.”
Even after the Indiana Jones-style raccoon was silently removed from the GRCC campus, Brown thought that a raccoon makes sense. “It shouldn’t be basic, a raccoon makes sense,” Brown said.
Ruth Kauffman, 19, of Rockford, was a little unsure of what the mascot is.
“I’m guessing a raider?” She questioned. “An attacker of an outside city? I don’t know, you caught me writing a fantasy novel so I’m picturing a gladiator.”
When asked what they believed the school mascot was, Emily Deryll, 18, of Grand Rapids, replied, “I’m pretty sure we don’t have one, my professor was off on a rant about how we don’t have one the other day.”
When asked what they believed a Raider is, Deryll admitted, “all that comes to mind is someone that robs people.”
After being assured that a Raider is not a robber, but rather an animal, Derryl pondered what GRCC’s mystery mascot is.
“When I think of a Raider, I think of someone raiding the fridge,” replied Deryll, who was creeping closer to uncovering the raccoon mascot.
Once Deryll realized that GRCC’s mascot is a Raider, they were asked what they believed the school mascot should be.
“Definitely not a bird because that was my mascot from high school,” Deryll said, adding “Honestly, the mascot should be a broke college student.”
What is a GRCC Raider? That’s been the question for students today that attend Grand Rapids Community College. Since the school’s opening in 1914, the term Raider has been used throughout its marketing life. Although to students, exactly what their school mascot is continues to be a subject of conversation.
Not many truly know, some are familiar with the Racoon character that came about a few years back, but some people, like 20 year old Mason Vanderklipp had a different idea of what a Raider is, “Why did I think GRCC Raiders were Knights?”
GRCC recently has tried making reinforcements for the Lion character to be the Raiders logo, Financial Aid at GRCC’s Student Center Office will soon be decorated with a lion theme to hone in on the campus spirit.
Gabriel Jordan, 20, from Kentwood took a guess at what the school’s mascot is, “Is it a lion?” When asked what he thinks a Raider is, Jordan responded with,“All that comes to mind is a Spartan from Michigan State.” Jordan added, “I think a lion would be good.”Jordan spoke on what mascot he would choose to represent the school,“I would pick a lion. I think it goes with the gold and blue letters.”
Sheena Weaver, 33, of Grand Rapids, is the head of Student Life and Conduct. One of few who has seen what the GRCC mascot is, and what they’re trying to change it to. Weaver believes that being a raider is being resilient and strong because students would face lots of challenges while being on campus.
“I think the Lion would be cool and this is why, because there’s a Lion fountain on Fountain St, and this is Lyon St,” Weaver said.But a Lion is also strong, so yeah I think the lion should stay.”
Timmy Nguyen, 22 is a Dental Assistant major at GRCC. When asked if they knew what a Raider was, he replied “No.” When asked what he believes a Raider to be, he said,“Isn’t it like a viking going with brute force into another person’s territory, taking for gain.”
Robert Wilson, 35, is a prospective GRCC student, looking to see if the school is a good fit for him. The Detroit native was not too familiar with the mascot that currently represents our institution.
“Umm..I don’t know what the mascot is here,” Wilson said. “I think a raider is like someone who takes, like an invader.”
Once he became aware that the face of his potential school was a anthropomorphized raccoon dressed like Indiana Jones, he said that he was vaguely familiar with that logo.The Detroit native has gone back and forth between Grand Rapids and Detroit since he was a child and he remembers going to football games at houseman field where the schools own disbanded football team formerly played and seeing the slyly dressed racoon. Wilson thinks that the school should ditch the current mascot for something that many others may not usually think about,
“Everytime I’m in Grand Rapids I see a crane in the middle of the river, like a blue Heron, I would like to see that,” Wilson said.
It seems like GRCC should take a some consideration into changing the long touted Raider moniker for something that gives the the school a bit more of a recognizable identity
Brooke Moran, a 20 year-old from Jenison is a student at GRCC. She is one of the several students here at GRCC who doesn’t know what the mascot actually is. Moran had already known that GRCC’s mascot was a Raider, however, she wasn’t exactly sure what it actually was. When asked if she knew what a Raider was, Moran said “No, not really” while laughing. She continued by saying “Honestly, I’m indifferent about it I guess… I think the only reason why I’m thinking of eagles is because Hudsonville kinda has the same colors as us… or a bear,” Moran suggested when asked about her opinion on what GRCC’s mascot should be.
Yasmin Diaz, 20, of Grand Rapids was unfamiliar with GRCC’s mascot(s). She was not happy to hear that they were a raccoon cosplaying as Indiana Jones and the fountain of a lion that she was sitting in front of.
“I don’t think they fit,” Diaz said. “The raccoon is just a little odd, like, that (doesn’t) make sense. How (are) you guy’s colors blue and yellow and you got (a raccoon)… it doesn’t go with it.”
Diaz suggested that the school rebrand to a robot mascot and sort out its identity crisis ASAP.
“We need to find a mascot soon,” Diaz said.We don’t want to be embarrassing.”
“Isn’t it that f***ing racoon?” said Chiyanne May, 21, when asked what GRCC’s mascot is.
When asked to elaborate on what she thinks a Raider is, she said, “Gosh it makes me think of a thief breaking into my house, stealing all my stuff.”
When asked, why do you think a Raider is? Kenna Weirsma, 21, said,“Honey Badger, they give off Raider vibes and they just kinda go for stuff.”
During a GRCC Student Government Town Hall on Oct. 16, GRCC President Charles Lepper weighed in on the mascot issue after GRCC student Evodie Djunga, who attended the town hall, asked a question about the topic. She said it would be nice to settle on a mascot to boost school spirit among students, noting that at this point “if we change from a lion to something else, it would be kind of confusing.”
Lepper replied, “…I hear that part of why we are where we are is the school’s mascot is a Raider, however someone prior to my time working here, who is no longer at the college, just made the decision that they liked the lion and started printing it on things without any input from anyone. And that’s not how that decision should have been made and so we are going to pause on that and say ok, if it is the lion then that’s ok, but we need to have other voices at that table instead of a person making that decision for the college.
Payton Calati, Lillian Hernandez, Abby Haywood, Abigail Ramirez, Antonio Ewing Jr, Kaliyah Witherspoon, Jack Walker, Naima Contreras, Alexa Cheaney and Noli Brown contributed to this report.
