Riley Quinlan isn’t the only student confused about what a Prairie Star is. Is it a star in the sky or a poisonous flower? What’s with Cosmo, the spikey-haired fellow who is seen trekking during basketball games inside TRAC?
Quinlan, sophomore political science/global studies major, and other members of the UIS Nickname Task Force are working to erase the Prairie Star for good and replace it with a new mascot.
Quinlan is co-chair of the task force and said he thinks students are passionate about changing the mascot. “We had an SGA survey sent out [about the mascot change], and we had about 750 or so results come in and over three-quarters or so of people were in some favor or in complete favor about changing the nickname and mascot,” he said. “The survey could have been taken by students, faculty, staff and alumni. So we were able to get a nice amount of input and they gave us a nice push and direction to change it.”
Ryan Bouray is the Student Government Association (SGA) president and co-chair of the task force. According to him, the task force is charged with reaching out to members of the UIS community and educating them on the issue of a possible change to the current UIS nickname/mascot while also seeking their feedback on the issue.
It is also researching all intended and unintended outcomes related to changing the current UIS nickname and mascot as well as providing a recommendation to the SGA as to whether UIS should change its current nickname and mascot. When doing so, that means they must present five investigated possible alternative nicknames/mascots, along with a summarized feasibility of changing the nickname and mascot as well as an explanation of best practices for a transition.
Emails and announcements were sent to the different interest groups on campus earlier in the semester to encourage their involvement and membership on the task force. There is a total of eight students who were selected to sit on the task force as well as seven employees from a variety of departments on campus.
Natalie To is a sophomore communications major and a member of the nickname and mascot task force. She said students need to be a part of the selection process. “If the student aren’t really happy about the nickname, they’re not going to be very proud of their school,” she said. “A majority of our student body doesn’t like [the] Prairie Stars, which is why this task force has been created.”
To says she supports a mascot change, as she feels students need something larger to rally behind. “When I first started attending UIS, I didn’t know what a Prairie Star was and it was just kind of like, I’ll go with the flow,” she said. “Then when I started a student org, it was hard to find cheers to do with Prairie Stars.” To added that several of the suggestions brought forth in the committee involves changing the mascot to an animal.
Bouray is sure the task force will do its due diligence to ensure that an informed and thoroughly researched recommendation is made to SGA. The University will ultimately vote on the change following SGA approval.
“In my personal opinion, the nickname’s ultimate purpose is to be a symbol of recognition for the university and the mascot’s purpose is to increase school spirit by being a representative of the University,” he said. “This is an important issue to all members of the UIS community because a university’s nickname is an essential point of pride for everyone connected to the university. Further, it is a point of recognition to those outside the university and a major first impression to those new to campus.”
Quinlan agrees with Bouray about the importance of first impressions of UIS from firsthand experience. “I also work in the Office of Admissions as a student ambassador and people will wonder what our mascot is because you know, they have never heard of us and we’re the Prairie Stars, and we honestly can’t give them a straight answer that you can talk to about with people,” he said. “I think if we get this name branding, we can create more solidarity and build a connection among the student. In general, it will do much more good and create a bond among the students and faculty.”
For more information regarding SGA’s role in the selection process or the student survey, visit:
