'Gaucho' Mascot's Fate Is Sealed At Saddleback College

MISSION VIEJO, CA — Saddleback College will likely change their mascot's name after a long-standing discussion on the controversial topic.

The Mission Viejo-based college has a long history linked to the Gaucho, seen as a cultural figure and a good luck charm for the athletics program. A petition brought about in September declared that the college had engaged in "cultural appropriation" and "dishonored the symbol of South American culture." The mascot, petitioners said, was depicted as an "angry, racist caricature of a horseman who looked more stereotypically Mexican than Argentinian."

At that time, the college invited community members to weigh whether maintaining that name was contributing to stereotypes or racism.

The discussion about changing the mascot's name has gone on for at least a decade, according to students from 2010. For some, the decision to at last change the school's mascot was lauded.

Former student Heather Hungate says she remembers the Gaucho controversy from a decade ago.

"Hopefully, this time it is corrected," she wrote on the Saddleback College Facebook page in September. "Glad to see this will be addressed."

Others met the mascot-change with frustration. Former student Danny Gonzalez defined Gaucho on the Facebook post, saying, "A gaucho is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. Once a Gaucho always a Gaucho!"

Saddleback College is inviting community members to attend an online discussion on the college’s mascot, the Gaucho, on... Posted by Saddleback College on Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Still, President Dr. Elliot Stern decided to retire the Gaucho from the school in a blanket decision announced Monday, after a conversation with the Academic Senate and Saddleback College's Consultation Council. A steering committee will decide on a new mascot that befits both the students and student-athletes at the college.

Recently announced as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, according to Stern, about30 percent of Saddleback College students and employees are Latinx, and nearly 60 percent are women. The Gaucho, he says, represents an "all-male culture" and does not properly represent the female athletes at the school.

"For those of you who hold your identity as a Gaucho close to your heart, I know that you are being made to make a sacrifice that may not feel ready to make," Stern wrote. "We acknowledge your pain as well. But through this sacrifice, you give a gift to your peers and to our brothers and sisters that will end their humiliation, embarrassment, and pain. With this gift, you join me in reminding every student on our campus and every future student who steps on to our quad that they are welcome, valued, beautiful in their potential, and loved."

If you want to contribute to the naming of a mascot, here are the criteria. The name must:

• Be unifying for the Saddleback College campus and community;
• Present a positive image or ideal that will build enthusiasm and campus/team spirit;
• Be broadly relevant across the Saddleback community, the student body, and generations of alumni;
• Be representative of the Saddleback experience, history, or geography, either generally or specifically;
• Work equally well for women’s and men’s sports teams; and
• Be represented in a visually pleasing way that connects to Saddleback College’s values.

The school will be seeking names until March 2.