Letter from Boston

Symbols Foster School Spirit

By MASAKO YAMADA

Right before homecoming weekend this year, I saw colorful banners announcing "Boston University" going up on the light poles along the campus on Commonwealth Avenue.

The banners are shaped like small flags, except that they are made of a tough kind of fabric that looks like it's coated with plastic. The banners don't flap in the wind and they look like they can withstand tough weather. I have the feeling they will stay up long after homecoming weekend is over.

I think these banners add a sense of community to our campus. BU doesn't have a campus in the traditional sense. Instead of ivy-covered brick buildings in a fenced enclosure, it has large buildings along one of the main streets of Boston.

The T runs straight down the middle of this street. T passengers can easily overlook the fact that they are going through a college campus if they don't look closely at the buildings.

These colorful banners, however, mark the territory of the campus. I have seen these banners along parts of Commonwealth Avenue that are miles away from the central hub of campus, and seeing them made me realize how spread apart the university buildings are. The banners boldly announce the presence of the university, and I think this is wonderful.

I sometimes feel that cohesive school spirit is lost at such sprawling, urban universities, but it almost feels as if the banners form an invisible web that encompasses the entire university.

Even though they don't have anything printed on them besides "Boston University" and the names of the various colleges within the university, just knowing the geographical connection of the buildings makes me feel more emotionally connected to my school. I think this feeling of connectedness is part of what gives an institution of learning school spirit.

My undergraduate college, Wellesley, is in many ways a traditional New England college. It has a beautifully maintained campus and lots of little customs that the students enjoy upholding. Because the school is small, there is a general sisterly goodwill among students, and this helps foster a feeling of togetherness.

It's a bit harder for large schools like BU to recreate this feeling of togetherness. That is why I think that seemingly inconsequential symbols like these new banners are so important to schools like BU. Those little symbolic traditions at Wellesley were just as silly, after all, but they added something to the college experience.

I suppose the BU school mascot, the terrier, is also one such symbol that helps connect the students to the school. It's very common for American sports teams to be named after animals. But coming from an undergraduate college where the school sports teams were called the Wellesley Blue, running into the BU Terriers everywhere on campus was initially a surprise to me.

Not only is the mascot heavily associated with sports teams — so much so that there is a special seating section for rabid basketball fans called The Dog Pound — it can also be seen on school T-shirts, stationery and other gift items. This grumpy cartoon dog is even printed on all of the official campus ID cards that university members have. Indeed, it is called a Terrier Card on campus.

I like the growling BU Terrier. I initially thought it wasn't serious enough for such important things as student ID cards, but I now see that the Terrier, like the new banners on Commonwealth Avenue, reminds us that we are a part of a community. It's true that there is nothing serious about this sort of character but there's really nothing like a icon to bring a bustling community together.

Shukan ST: Nov. 6, 1998

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