George Washington University announced on Wednesday that it is changing its moniker from the “Colonials” to the “Revolutionaries.”
The new name results from a pressure campaign to change it over “Colonials” being deemed offensive.
GW Today said the change resulted from a year-long process that included “47,000 points of feedback and 8,000 moniker suggestions whittled down in a comprehensive community engagement process to four finalists.”
The Colonials branding was retired last year, and the university newspaper’s sports section was changed from “Colonial Army” to “George’s Army” in 2019.
The change was announced in a breaking news-style video hosted by alumnus Chuck Todd and posted to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
The moment you’ve all been waiting for – we are proud to announce GW’s new moniker: the Revolutionaries!
Learn more about this revolutionary moment for GW. ⬇️https://t.co/RxGMLQ8Jh2#RaiseHigh Revolutionaries! pic.twitter.com/AIzhGLgHgZ
— GW University (@GWtweets) May 24, 2023
President Mark S. Wrighton, who appeared in the video, said “this is an exciting day for the George Washington University Revolutionaries.”
“I am very grateful for the active engagement of our community throughout the development of the new moniker,” Wrighton continued. “This process was truly driven by our students, faculty, staff and alumni, and the result is a moniker that broadly reflects our community—and our distinguished and distinguishable GW spirit.”
According to GW Today, “the moniker became official when the GW Board of Trustees accepted the recommendation of Wrighton and the Moniker Advisory Committee, which included representation from students, faculty, staff and alumni.”
“Throughout the months-long community engagement efforts that included focus groups, random sample surveys and community-wide opportunities to rate moniker options and merchandise distribution, Revolutionaries was the top-ranked option in every round,” the report added. “In January, the university published a broad call for GW community members to submit proposed names for the new GW moniker. The university received approximately 8,000 moniker suggestions and developed a set of guiding principles that were used to narrow the list to 10 names that best reflected the spirit of GW.”
The university ultimately decided that “Revolutionaries” fit the GW community because members “are not afraid to break boundaries and change the game.”
“To have 47,000 points of feedback from the GW community is a testament to the pride people have in this institution, and we are proud to offer them a new moniker that will propel us as we move ahead in our third century,” said Vice President for Communications and Marketing Ellen Moran, according to the GW Today report.
Other moniker finalists included “Blue Fog,” “Ambassadors” and “Sentinels.”
