Old, In with the New Trojy

Everywhere you look, Greek mythology and history is incorporated throughout American society, from famous Greek cities to warriors to school mascots. One of these Greek warrior groups were the Trojans, who gained their fame within Homer’s Iliad. The Trojan War, as depicted by Homer, lasted for 10 years as Greek armies laid siege to Troy, refusing to stop until their Queen Helen was returned. The war ended when the Greek armies retreated suddenly, leaving a grand wooden horse at the gates of Troy. This mysterious gift was then taken in by the unsuspecting Trojans, and, later that night, a group of Greek warriors, who had been hiding within the horse invaded, pillaging and plundering Troy. Though they lost the war, the Trojans are still seen as a powerful warrior people, and today they serve as the CHS mascot, projecting strength and unity into its students.

This past fall at the Patriot Game assembly, the Trojan mascot of 16 years was replaced with a newer, starker version. When it came to the design of the new mascot, the Student Senate, working with Trojy themself, took the lead. “We really tried our best to make it as perfect as it could be,” reflects Trojy’s alter-ego. Designing the mascot took tireless work that required numerous factors to be taken into account. “[Our main focuses were] to make it comfortable and light because the old one was kind of heavy, and we also wanted it to be cool…it was really hard because the company making it didn’t do the best…I felt like they kind of set us aside because we’re a high school.” The process itself took around a year, with Trojy spending months working with Senate, talking to the company, designing, and then waiting for the mascot to be made and received. Senate’s main goal was to create an updated mascot for the students of CHS to rally around.

However, the question begs to be asked: which Trojy is better? In the opinions of Trojy and Ms. Johnson, the new mascot is better. “I think it has a great presence,” observes Johnson. “The whole history of a mascot is to intimidate the other team…So, our new mascot is very tall, but larger than the last one, and I think it will intimidate our opponents.” Trojy agrees with this sentiment. “Overall, the new mascot was just the best decision for the school…the old one was almost twenty years old, and it was just starting to fall apart,” Trojy admits Nonetheless, many disagree with this, “I liked the old one better because it wasn’t as bright,” articulates foreign language teacher and Central alumni Bryn Lynch, “but we’ll get used to it. It will get a little dirty, it will roll around on some fields, and it will be better, I think.”

Having a mascot is an important aspect within a school. Unknown to many, these fun figures used in pep rallies and games were originally living animals, but with the inconvenience of taking care of a living animal, mascots were soon changed over to the costumed figures students love today. “I hope that we always have a mascot,” Johnson wishes, reasoning that “[it’s] a symbol of school spirit and community.” Gaining such unity through a symbol like Trojy makes the mascot extremely valuable. “We do so much with [our mascot], like we’ve sent Trojy to elementary schools to just show kids how awesome Central High School is,” Trojy shares.

Because Trojy represents CHS as a whole, they have to portray the values of the school. “Our school is really built on making meaningful connections,…[and] when Trojy is out in the community, especially at the elementary schools or at games, it just really brings in this community piece,” says Johnson.“I think that really helps with those meaningful connections in remembering that we’re all a part of this…Trojan community.”

For past students such as Lynch, the Trojan community is one they have remained a part of beyond high school, and Trojy is a symbol of that unity. “[For me, it’s] the spirit of the school and bringing us all together behind one group that is more cohesive,” Lynch reflects. Trojy also sees themself as an embodiment of spirit: “I think a value is the spirit we have,” explains Trojy, “and we get a lot of that spirit from sports and events, so if Trojy is at those events, making them better, and… showing up to those, [it] just shows a lot, and it really helps people get an idea of how great the school is and how great the spirit is.”

Central has experienced tremendous changes with the school’s mascot, architecture and curriculum over the years. Although the old Trojy has been replaced, they will forever remain in the history and legacy of Central, and their departure will make way for many new memories with the new Trojy and students of today. //