The Return Of The Crusader?

 

By: Brooklyn Swalwell (11)

Could the Crusader mascot be making a comeback at Helias Catholic? Junior Josh Quinones hopes to bring back the physical mascot to increase school spirit and encourage more student involvement at school events.

“I think being the official, costumed mascot for Helias would be extremely fun and help with school spirit. A lot of people just need a nudge to go and get loud, and who better than a humongous, goofy-looking Crusader,” Quinones said.

Quinones believes a mascot could bring more excitement to sporting events, especially when student sections lack energy.

“The student sections can sometimes be...very lacking. Like, tumbleweeds through the rows. I think a physical mascot would help build hype at sporting events and give people another thing to look forward to.”

Principal Dr. Spencer Allen explained that Helias has not officially discussed bringing back the mascot, but the idea has not been ruled out.

“The only reason the old costume isn’t here anymore because it was falling apart, and so it just went the way of the dumpster, but no one has made a philosophical decision not to have a mascot; it's always a possibility.”

Allen believes a mascot could add excitement to school events, but bringing one back would require careful planning. He explained that the school would need to consider the cost, appearance, and how often the mascot would be used.

“It's a budget item. Appropriateness. Like at an elementary school, a silly mascot is more appropriate, but would a high school look different. I don’t know that’s a conversation we would want to have. Do we want it to look like a crusader with a big head and silly, or more of an actual crusader? Another would be how we use it certainly could be used for pep assemblies. It could get the crowd excited at a game; we just have to see if it's worth the money we are spending. We have to make sure it's not something we just throw into the closet again.”

For Quinones, the mascot would be an opportunity to make school events more entertaining and encourage students to participate.

“Upping student interactions at sporting events and putting smiles on people's faces. It would be a really fun way to get involved and get other students involved too. Maybe we could use him as a window for halftime events like little contests or something like that.”

Allen also explained that the previous mascot was not used frequently, which may be why students have not expressed much interest in bringing it back.

“I think it wasn’t used enough that people didn’t register the absence of the mascot, and he would come out once or twice a year. I have worn it one time at an assembly, during a lip-sync 2 or 3 years ago; so it just didn’t get a lot of use. If we did bring it back, we would want to make sure we have some intentionality.”

Although no decision has been made, Allen said the school would be willing to consider the idea if students showed enough interest.

“I think what the students could definitely see happening is definitely we get together and talk about it, and we really take student input seriously. I think that if there was a lot of interest, we would definitely look at it, put a serious thought to it; we would say how much is this gonna cost, do we have money aside right now, and maybe if not right now, maybe next fall we would ask all of those questions. We wouldn’t necessarily commit to anything; we don’t commit to anything. We ask questions and make the best decision we can.”

For Quinones, even seeing the mascot return would be exciting, whether or not he gets the chance to wear the costume.

Quinones said, “It would be really fun and a great addition to our sports. It would absolutely please me just to see the mascot, let alone be him.”