By Kendrick Díaz
SC Staff Writer

Before recently, I, like many other students, had no idea who the mascot was for ESU. I assumed it was a warrior of some sort, but I never would have guessed it was a cute and cuddly warrior like Burgy the Bear.

The story of Burgy’s inception is incredibly endearing. According to an ESU page dedicated entirely to the bear, students adopted him as the mascot “during a hiking, biking and kayaking adventure through the Delaware Water Gap” after “[a] young bear cub stumbled upon the students’ campsite, rummaged through their clothes and became intrigued with their athletic gear and several Warriors t-shirts.”

When that story spread across campus via The Stroud Courier, Burgy was quickly adopted as the mascot. He was someone who embodied the local region, yet still showed the spirit of a Warrior.

Overall, I tend to agree that Burgy is a good mascot for our University. However, I will say that he is a little too cute to be a Warrior.

I try to imagine going into battle with him, and I can only think that he would have to kill the enemies with kindness.

Burgy’s fan page also states that he is “a few cookies shy of 300 pounds,” which is a bit pudgy to be of much use in battle. Warriors need to train to burn off that fat and build some muscle.

Additionally, if Burgy was a cub when he became our mascot, he would be 7-years old. 7-year-olds should not be on the battlefield; that’s just irresponsible.

Burgy’s fame seems to have dwindled over the years. Upon being asked for her opinion of Burgy, Jenny Bront, a junior studying English with a concentration in Secondary Education, simply replied, “Who?”

That being said, perhaps Burgy should be more visible outside of school events and sports. It’d be nice to see him around campus more, like in the Union or hanging out near Stroud Hall.

Any and all criticisms aside, Burgy is definitely a good mascot and image for the school; he just needs some more love. His wholesome and cuddly appearance may help to mitigate the ratchet reputation that ESU unfortunately has (though we don’t yet know if Burgy knows how to twerk.)

Email kendrick at:
kdiaz4@live.esu.edu