SUDBURY -- Victor the Voyageur has been missing from some big Laurentian University games as of late, and the school says it’s shelving the francophone caricature mascot as it reviews whether it’s culturally sensitive.
"We’ve received a number of comments in terms of representation by our university community and so we decided to put him on ice," says university vice-president Serge Demers. "We’ve got a group looking into the issue."
Victor is supposed to be a voyageur, someone who was an expert woodsman, lumberjack, boatman and guide in remote regions, and in Canada’s frontier days, they were often French-Canadian.
"Whether or not he is too large, too small, his face is too square, not square enough, it’s really going to run the gamut," said Demers. "If we had a mascot that was an animal, I don’t think we’d be getting these questions right now … Victor is under the microscope," says Demers.
The move has sparked some debate within the school community as to whether the move was warranted or if it’s an overreaction on a part of officials.
"We had no choice but to listen to our stakeholders and given the feedback we’ve received, we’ve erred on the side of ‘better safe than sorry’ at this point," Demers explains.
Laurentian’s school newspaper broke the story after its editor, Shanleigh Brosseau, found out about the move while watching an online forum where students voice their concerns.
Brosseau says she contacted school officials and was told the mascot was under review.
"Mascots around other campuses are a topic of discussion right now, especially issues for mascot representation, says Brosseau.
Parallels have been drawn by some between Laurentian’s situation and how McGill University recently dropped its team name, Redmen, in order to find something more culturally appropriate or culturally sensitive.
"Our situation is similar but different as in many cases. Right now, we’re looking at the mascot, not necessarily the name of the school teams, so in that sense the stories are different," Demers says. "But certainly, I believe every university or every college or every team that has a caricature of a human will have to do some form of introspection."
Demers couldn’t comment as to when the mascot might make a return, and it’s unclear if Victor will ever be back. If all goes to plan, he’s hoping a team mascot will be back in some form or another by the start of the next school year.
