California State University's campus in Long Beach is ditching its longtime mascot amid accusations of racism and officially moving to pick either a new symbol or have no mascot at all. Nearly 13,000 participated in the community poll, which was open to residents, alumni, faculty and anyone else who wanted a stake in the choice. More than 10,000 students voted online this week, Jara said, with sharks winning by a wide margin. CSULB President Jane Close Conoley ratified the … California State University at Long Beach has finally “retired” its long-time mascot, “Prospector Pete,” due to “some saying” it represents racism and genocide against Native Americans. Cal State Long Beach is soliciting votes for its new mascot, with six candidates for the spot of the ousted Prospector Pete. The sharks will become Cal State Long Beach’s new mascot, the university announced Friday, May 10. After a months-long process to replace Prospector Pete, sharks came out on top in a student vote earlier this week. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. (Photo courtesy of Cal State Long Beach), Participants in an online poll in search of Cal State Long Beach’s next mascot chose shark as its top choice. The university began accepting submissions for mascots in February, ultimately receiving hundreds of ideas. California State University Long Beach has finally unveiled its new mascot: “Elbee” the Shark. We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The unveiling of “Elbee,” a gray colored shark donning the signature LB emblem on its chest, took place on social media on Monday, August 17, according to a press release from CSULB. Jael Sierra, Campus Reform, 9/5/17 Students at California State University-Long Beach recently protested the “Prospector Pete” statue on campus, saying it serves as a monument to historical genocide. Accessibility. EMAILS: CAL STATE ACTIVISTS TARGET CONSERVATIVE STUDENT GROUP, SAY THEY'RE 'NOT WELCOME', This Sept. 20, 2017 photo shows the "Prospector Pete" statue at California State University, Long Beach, Calif. But students have come to see the mascot not as a tribute to their founder or to California history, but rather as a representation of the violence caused to Native Americans and others during California’s Gold Rush era. California State University's campus in Long Beach is ditching its longtime mascot amid accusations of racism and officially moving to pick either a new symbol or have no mascot at all. Market data provided by Factset. Long Beach State Selects Sharks As New Mascot. A selection committee narrowed those submissions down to six options for a community poll in April. CSULB students protest their own mascot . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Instead of spreading school spirit a mascot has caused some controversy on a local college campus. Cal State Long Beach unveiled its new shark mascot via social media today, more than a year after the conclusion of a student-initiated process that first, widely solicited ideas for a new mascot, sent semifinalist concepts to a broad community vote, and finally offered up three finalists for a student referendum. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. “We have benefited from a thoughtful, thorough, and inclusive process by our students,” Conoley said in a statement. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Part of his elimination will involve moving a 1967 bronze statue of Prospector Pete — also known as the Forty-Niner Man and modeled after a former student — from the central plaza on campus to an alumni area. 401 Golden Shore Long Beach CA 90802 (562) 951-4000. An artist rendering of the Cal State Long Beach “sharks” entree from February. The school will also move a statue of … The decision came about six months after the university’s leadership removed Prospector Pete, following years of criticism that he was offensive to indigenous peoples. The sharks will become Cal State Long Beach’s new mascot, the university announced Friday, May 10. President Jane Close Conoley, the ultimate arbiter of the next mascot, ratified the student selection Friday, according to the announcement. All rights reserved. Lukas Mikelionis is a reporter for FoxNews.com, (Thomas R. Cordova/The Orange County Register via AP), Fox News Flash top headlines for April 26, Today's mortgage rates stay below 3% for 14 consecutive week | January 15, 2021, Today's mortgage refinance rates crawl upward | January 15, 2021, Here’s how much debt the average American has — and how to pay it off. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. (Photo courtesy of Cal State Long Beach), Selecting the sharks as a mascot, its entry description read, would make the university the only Division 1 school with the “king of the sea.” Sharks are also fearless and never stop swimming — representative, the entry continued, “of our students in their tireless pursuit to make a difference in the world.”. Six months after university leadership retired its controversial Prospector Pete mascot, California State University, Long Beach — also known as Long Beach State — announced the selection of “Sharks” as the new school mascot. In February, Michele Cesca, vice president of university relations and development, said the new mascot shouldn’t impact other nicknames. “The entire process we’ve gone through, to end up with the sharks, has been a collaborate and well-thought-out process.”. The baseball team, for example, goes by the Dirtbags. Fox News Flash top headlines for April 26 are here. “I’m super excited,” she added. Nearly half of the participants in the poll were alumni. According to the Daily Forty-Niner, the shark’s name is a phonetic form of “LB” (for “Long Beach”), and it’ll wear the number 49 to maintain a sense of tradition. Besides sharks, those semifinalists were stingrays, giraffes, pelicans, the mythical beast kraken and “Go Beach,” essentially a no-mascot vote. ), CALIFORNIA COLLEGE MOVES 'PROSPECTOR PETE' STATUE FROM PLAZA. 7) California State University Long Beach unveiled its new mascot… All rights reserved. “I am grateful to all the university’s stakeholders for their participation.”. Legal Statement. (Thomas R. Cordova/The Orange County Register via AP). Sharks, stingrays and “Go Beach” made the final round, open only to students. April 24, 2019 9:33 AM Cal State Long Beach is asking the public to help select a new mascot for the university, a move that comes months after the school decided to send its former mascot … Several campus organizations continue to use the term, however, including the ’49er Foundation and the Daily 49er, the campus newspaper. On Thursday Cal State Long Beach announced that the controversial mascot Prospector Pete would be retired. Legal Statement. Market data provided by Factset. With 49ers apparel from our store, you can look great while supporting Long Beach State basketball, baseball and more. She became a reporter for the Southern California News Group in 2018. - ADVERTISEMENT - CSULB’s president Jane Close Conoley ratified the results of the student’s vote on Friday, according to a release from the university. Maps and Directions. The university will begin a year-long development process to determine the visual look of the mascot, its personality characteristics, and the design of its uniforms and illustrations. The story, which was first reported on by The College Fix, details the pushback against the school’s mascot, which some have alleged has ties to American genocide against Native Americans.. The athletics program, which ditched Prospector Pete as a mascot a few years ago, will continue to use “Beach Athletics” for the coming year, according to Friday’s statement. Title IX. CSU has a long history of fostering and building unity among the campus community through powerful symbols. In a statement, university president Jane Close Conoley argued that Cal State Long Beach can no longer use a mascot like “Prospector Pete” given its new emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Genesis Jara, president of Associated Students, Inc., told the Mercury News of San Jose that the options for students to vote on were selected from hundreds of ideas submitted by students. Men, women or kids - no matter the Long Beach State fan, we have the gear. “Go Beach” received 25% and stingrays garnered 22%, Jara said. 2/6/19 at 6:42 p.m. | A resolution passed Wednesday evening by Cal State Long Beach’s Associated Students will allow students to submit ideas and drawings for a new mascot, according to ASI. California State University, Long Beach has announced the shark as the new mascot for the university. The final decision will rest with President Jane Close Conoley. It’s just the latest rebranding attempt on campus after retiring its Prospector Pete 49ers mascot more than a year ago. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Students are turning their backs on California State University-Long Beach’s (CSULB) mascot, Prospector Pete, calling the statue an “icon of genocide.” Genesis Jara, president of Associated Students, Inc., said she’s happy the campus will “finally have something that represents us and is inclusive. Emily Rasmussen is an alumna of the Cal State Long Beach Journalism Department. When it comes to Long Beach State merch, we have what every 49ers fan is looking for. California State University Office of the Chancellor. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Sharks will be Cal State Long Beach’s new…, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Best of 2020: Fried chicken takeout in Long Beach, Sharks will be Cal State Long Beach’s new mascot, university says, Coronavirus: L.A. County reported 269 fewer hospitalizations, 9,927 new cases and 88 new deaths as of Jan. 18, Gerald Locklin, CSULB teacher, writer, poet, dies at 79, Leadership Long Beach leads virtual MLK Day of celebration, service, Long Beach Airport offers rapid COVID-19 testing for passengers, said the new mascot shouldn’t impact other nicknames. or redistributed. Sharks garnered 53% student support after the three-day vote, held Monday to Wednesday, May 6 to May 8. The Long Beach State Beach, previously known as the 49ers, are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Long Beach.Teams compete in 19 sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level. The ocean predator also came in first in an online community poll last month. The supposedly offensive mascot was born when the campus opened in the 1940s, with founding President Pete Peterson’s comment that he “struck the gold of education” by creating it, according to the Los Angeles Times. ‘Cal State Long Beach’s mascot Prospector Pete will, soon, be no more.’ A Prospector Pete statue at California State University, Long Beach, Calif., Sept. 20, 2017. A 53% student-led vote chose "sharks" over … In 1972, the then California State College at Hayward became California State University, Hayward. CSULB unveils new shark mascot. A university steering committee, with stakeholders appointed by Conoley, will lead that process. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. ©2021 FOX News Network, LLC. (Whether the NFL's San Francisco 49ers should be worried about their nickname is unknown at this point. It’s official -- Long Beach State’s new mascot will be the shark! A new mascot is yet to be determined, but the Cal State Long Beach website says input is welcome during the Imagine Beach 2030 event on Nov. 14 … The Pioneer (and any evidence of a mascot at all) disappears from the historical record for twelve years. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. In 1942, San Jose State announced the Spartans as the official mascot (now called Sammy the Spartan), making it the first CSU campus to adopt an official mascot. The term — and Prospector Pete — derive from the university’s founding year, 1949; but it also eventually became a reference to California’s Gold Rush Era, during which prospectors often committed atrocities against indigenous peoples. May 12, 2019 - 18:51 PM. After a months-long process to replace Prospector Pete, sharks … In 1977, the student-ran yearbook began once again, now called Horizons instead of Elan. California State University Long Beach has finally unveiled its new mascot: “Elbee” the Shark. The university ditched its "Prospector Pete" character in September after criticism that it was offensive to indigenous people. The university is now asking students to vote on a new mascot, with choices including Pelicans, Sharks, Stingrays, Giraffes, Kraken (a sea monster from Scandanavian folklore), or even picking the option called “the Beach” that is sort of a no-mascot option. Last year, the university moved the statue of the mascot away from a prominent place on campus due to the outcry. The Associated Press contributed to this report. California State University, Long Beach (CSULB, Long Beach State, Cal State Long Beach, LBSU, or The Beach) is a public university in Long Beach, California.The 322-acre campus is the third largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities in the state of California by enrollment, its student body numbering 39,359 for the fall 2020 semester. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! While Prospector Pete hasn’t been the mascot since last year, the term “49er” will remain an informal nickname for anyone affiliated with the university. Cal State Long Beach's New Mascot: A Nonbinary Shark That Uses Plural Pronouns | The College Fix (Vol. CSULB is a large, urban, comprehensive university in the 23-campus California State University system. A statement on the university website said the Gold Rush was "a time in history when the indigenous peoples of California endured subjugation, violence and threats of genocide." Cal State Long Beach is premiering its new shark mascot, “Elbee,” ahead of the Fall 2020 semester. Cal State Long Beach athletics made a subtle shift away from the image in 2014 in favor of the nickname “Beach Athletics.” However, campus student government pushed for a more substantial change … After a months-long process of receiving mascot idea submissions, polling the community and putting it to a student vote, Cal State Long Beach has a new mascot: sharks. Much like people not changing their minds about aliens, Long Beach State athletics fans aren’t changing their minds about the “49ers” situation because Cal State Long Beach changed its mascot to a shark. The university announced the finalists April 10. The students’ choice was apt, the university statement said, because of the university’s renowned Shark Lab — often featured in the Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” — and the campus’ proximity to the beach. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. Towering over the courtyard at California State University, Long Beach, is the barrel-chested statue of Prospector Pete, the epitome of the rugged 49ers who came to the state … This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. ©2021 FOX News Network, LLC. Cal State Long Beach announced Pete’s official demise Thursday. 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