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In mid-March PCC announced their long anticipated new mascot, a horse, transitioning from Larry the Lancer, PCC’s former and much beloved mascot. 

Getting rid of Larry the Lancer is the end of an era for PCC, who’s had Larry since at least the late 90s. The slightly threatening face of Larry the Lancer has loomed over PCC’s history though, as PCC’s Marketing Director, David Steiman, explained, hasn’t exactly been expansive in its use. 

“What we did was a survey of all of our athletic teams. Only one out of sixteen teams were actually using the logo,” Steiman said.”Everyone was using whatever they wanted” We set off on remaking the athletic logo. I love athletic logos that have something hidden in them.”

The new logo at PCC has the figure of a horse in its negative space, which is a hallmark of the new mascot’s design. The new mascot depicts a helmet of a lancer, while hiding a horse in plain sight. 

“Mostly I don’t think that [the old logo is] representative of who we are as a college now,” Steiman said. And so I wanted something that could be gender neutral, culturally neutral, because I didn’t think that this Anglo white warrior was representative maybe of our student body, who we are as a community as a city college.” 

A few students at PCC that spoke to The Courier had polarizing thoughts on the topic of the mascot, ranging from loving it, to despising it. 

Tony Ordoukharian, a student at PCC, believes that the horse is representative of strength, and ferocity. 

“Firstly, I think the idea of changing it from a lancer to a horse is a bold move,” Ordoukharian said. “PCC strives towards academic excellence and professional success, just as horses stride towards the horizon on an endless trail. It is the sheer speed and strength of the horse that we can align our capabilities as students to; it is indeed the very idea of what we can embrace in life; it is in essence the soul of PCC.”

Dymaris Gonzalez, who is on the water polo and swim team here at PCC, was on the opposite end of the spectrum. 

“I play water polo at PCC and currently swim on the PCC team as well,” Gonzalez  said. “I think it’s weird that it’s a horse, when I first saw it I thought ‘you had one job, one’. Not a huge fan. I mean it’s cute but not the strongest representation for a lancer, does he even have his lance?’”

Overall, the new mascot at PCC strives towards inclusivity, and brings in  a new era for PCC’s mascot. Whether you love it, or hate it, the nameless horse is here to stay– though their naming is in the works, as PCC students vote on the top contenders on Instagram stories in a March Madness themed vote. To join the voting, follow @pcclancers on Instagram.

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