New College president slams editorial claiming ‘racial stereotypes’ of new tree mascot
SARASOTA, Fla. (FLV) – New College Interim President Richard Corcoran criticized the Sarasota Herald Tribune for publishing an editorial that claimed the college’s new mascot, a Banyan tree, resembled an “angry, threatening brown individual,” among other racially-based comments.
“It’s offensive and sad that the Sarasota Bradenton Herald would promote and elevate such sick and demented comments,” Corcoran told Florida’s Voice. “Unfortunately not their first time and certainly not their last.”
Florida’s Voice reached out to the Sarasota Herald Tribune for comment Monday evening and Tuesday morning, and did not hear back.
The mascot, a fierce-looking, flexing banyan tree, was designed by first-year student Anna Lazzara.
During a New College Board of Trustees meeting on June 1, Lazzara noted the Banyan trees at the Sarasota campus. The board voted and approved the design, which will be used for the new athletics teams.
The Herald Tribune editorial, “New College leaders botched new mascot process,” was written by Robin Williams, a board member on the Sarasota-Charlotte Democratic Progressive Caucus.
Williams said Corcoran and the board supported and chose “an altered mascot that depicts a tree that has been anthropomorphized to closely resemble an angry, threatening brown individual.”
Williams said to anyone with “even a cursory knowledge of racial stereotypes, the new mascot should have set off alarms.”
“It turns out the original student version of the mascot was very different in appearance and was unlikely to have raised any concerns,” Williams wrote.
However, Lazarro, the mascot’s designer, did not mention any racially-based concepts behind the design.
When Lazarro heard the news of the college seeking a new mascot, she began to think about what the “New College spirit” meant to her.
“The New College spirit, for me, is the combination of the supportive community and the stunning natural landscape. Both of these things, I believe, are perfectly represented in the form of a mighty Banyan tree,” Lazarra said during the meeting.
In the Tribune editorial, Williams also said the image is offensive because it is “reminiscent of the historically offensive imagery perpetuated by the ‘Tarzan’ books, which featured a main character who lived in an African jungle and boasted of being a ‘killer of beasts and many black men.'”
Corcoran said in a June 5 press release he is “proud” that the mascot was a student’s design.
The press release highlighted how the banyan tree is known for its aerial roots that can “live for centuries.”
“They are also considered the world’s biggest trees in terms of the area they cover. In a way, the entanglements of the roots and branches all under the vast canopy echoes the interweaving of the past, present, and the future,” the press release said.
New College Board of Trustee Christopher Rufo, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, responded to the article on Twitter.
“Local affluent white female liberal claims that the New College mascot, a banyan tree, ‘closely resemble[s] an angry, threatening brown individual.’ Advice for white libs: if you see a tree and immediately think “looks like a scary minority to me,” you might be the racist,” Rufo said.
Local affluent white female liberal claims that the New College mascot, a banyan tree, "closely resemble[s] an angry, threatening brown individual."
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) June 19, 2023
Advice for white libs: if you see a tree and immediately think "looks like a scary minority to me," you might be the racist. pic.twitter.com/mi2SuIXPc3
New College hit national headlines after DeSantis appointed a majority of the board of trustees, where they made sweeping changes.
Several students and parents of students have protested the board’s decision to abolish DEI bureaucracies among additional changes. Others said DeSantis made a “full scale fascist attack” on New College.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune published a story on April 15 with a headline, “New College struggling with enrollment after Ron DeSantis’ overhaul.” The headline was later changed.
In April, Corcoran told Florida’s Voice that “it’s just not true – at all” and that they are about to “blow the doors off” enrollment.
