UC Merced Kicks Off Valleywide Mascot ContestMERCED – What will the mascot be for the University of California, Merced? The answer to that question will be determined through a contest open to students in kindergarten through 9th grades. The contest, which offers a four-year scholarship to UC Merced to the winner, got under way Monday, Nov. 29 with a press conference at the Applegate Park Zoo in Merced. UC Merced Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey will greet the media and a group of third graders from nearby John C. Fremont Charter School in Merced. The elementary school children will turn in the first official contest entries during the event. Also on hand will be mascots from several Valley high schools to add spirit and support for the contest kick-off. Schools represented by their mascots included Fremont Charter School, Fowler High School, Livingston High School, Merced High School and Selma High School. Contest entry forms are available through county offices of education in eight San Joaquin Valley counties -- Kern, Kings, Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin. Forms are also available over the Internet at www.ucop.edu/ucmerced and at the UC Merced office, 1170 W. Olive Avenue Suite I, in Merced. Entries must be postmarked, or received via the Internet, on or before Feb. 29, 2000 and the winning selection will be announced in May of 2000. All entrants who suggest the mascot selected by the judges will be placed in a drawing to determine the winner of the scholarship. The scholarship will cover student fees for a course of study that will lead to a Bachelor's Degree from UC Merced. In order to use the scholarship, the winner must meet all the normal academic and admission requirements of the University of California, Merced. If the winner happens to be a transfer student, he or she will receive a scholarship for student fees for two years of undergraduate and two years of graduate courses at UC Merced. All other fees and expenses are the responsibility of the student. In addition to the four-year award, Carol Whiteside, president of The Great Valley Center in Modesto, announced that the organization would provide the winner with a $1,000 textbook scholarship. The Center supports activities and organizations that promote the economic, social, and environmental well-being of California's Great Central Valley. Mascots have long been a traditional catalyst for boosting school loyalty and spirit. They sometimes reflect a historical event such as the 49ers of gold rush days or the Sooners during the rush for free land in Oklahoma. Often, mascots portray a symbol of the region such as the Seahawks of Seattle, or the Wolverines of Michigan. Occasionally, they can relate to a critical economic feature of a university as the Nebraska Cornhuskers or Pittsburgh Steelers. UC Merced will be the first UC campus to be built in the San Joaquin Valley and the first research university to be built in the U.S. in the 21st century. The campus is expected to open to approximately 1,000 students in 2005.
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