The Fate of GW's Hippo Hangs in Balance

A miscommunication between George Washington University and its campus bookstore led to a hippo scare last week when the student newspaper reported the school's unofficial mascot would be phased out of merchandising, the GW Hatchet reports.

The paper reported last week that the bookstore stopped ordering hippo gear because the school wanted to put out a "unified brand" that was fronted only by its official mascots, George and Big George.

This week, however, university officials refuted that story, saying, "Counter to the implications of the story, there has been no high-level decision to do away with our unofficial mascot, which is a great part of our culture and lore at GW."

In fact, as opposed to phasing out the hippo, the school is debating whether to make the African animal an official GW registered mark. A campus official said the bookstore was notified of the deliberations and was ordering "limited things" until a decision was made. This, however, was apparently interpreted as a directive to stop ordering hippo gear.

The hippo, which apparently is safe for now, was introduced as an unofficial mascot in 2001 and is widely recognized by the student body but has been a source of confusion for some alumni and sports fans.