BOSTON — Robert Brown, the president of Boston University, has appointed two school officials to co-chair a committee the university is assembling to discuss potentially changing the name of the school’s mascot. The university made the announcement in an email to the school community Wednesday afternoon.
Boston University’s mascot is Rhett the Boston terrier. The name Rhett comes from Gone with the Wind, a Margaret Mitchell novel made into a popular movie in the 1930s. The university said in their notice that the name Rhett came about from the story’s lead characters, Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara.
BU’s school colors are scarlet and white, hence the connection to Rhett.
However, the university noted that the origins of their mascot’s name is the reason they are considering “retiring” the name and adopting a new one.
“Despite this seemingly cute connection between the movie and our mascot’s name, the fact is that the movie’s portrayal of the American Civil War, postwar reconstruction, and slavery is offensive,” Brown said in the email.
“And it is reasonable for people to question why, at a university founded by abolitionists, we have a mascot nicknamed for a character in a film whose racist depictions are completely at odds with our own tradition. It is time to address this question.”
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Harvey Young, the dean of the university’s College of Fine Arts, along with Steve Hall, the vice president for BU’s alumni relations, will be the co-chairs of the committee, which is still being formed.
“The committee will be composed of representatives from the alumni community, undergraduate and graduate students, faculty members, and representatives from Athletics,” Brown wrote.
The university’s plan is to have the committee submit a recommendation to Brown by mid-October.
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