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The Unconquered Statue
by Brian Benson
What does it mean
to be a Florida State Seminole? To be a
Florida State Seminole means pride, joy, happiness, unconquered, rebel,
fighter, and education. The Unconquered
Student in front of Doak Campbell Stadium at Florida
State University
in Tallahassee, Florida stands for all these meaning. The Unconquered Student Statue
represents a
lot of things but in the next couple of paragraphs, I will discuss the
history
of the Unconquered Student statue, where the controversy came from,
when it was
built, who built the statue, and why does it represent Florida State University
1947 started a new era for Florida State. This year was when Florida State
would become a coed school and stay that way through today. In 1957, the Seminole Tribe gained Federal
status. This was really the changing
point for the history of FSU. 1958, a new mascot was introduced to Florida State University,
Sammy Seminole. Sammy would stay for
about 10 years, and then everything would change. “1962,
FSU student Bill Durham, serving on the
University's Homecoming Committee, proposes starting a new tradition. This new tradition would be a student dressed
as a Seminole Indian. The student would
ride a horse and perform during the Homecoming football game. The idea
didn't
get much support — but did become the basis of the Osceola and
Renegade
tradition in 1978.”2
A tradition was
born at FSU when Bobby Bowden decided to be a part of FSU,
he introduced Savage Sam. Today we call
him the Seminole Warrior, the character Osceola and his horse Renegade. The Warrior introduced during an Oklahoma
State University Cowboys and Florida State Seminoles game.
The OSU team mascot is a Cowboy, how ironic
is that?
The Controversy of
Florida State University’s mascot was not a very big deal but the
University
still needed the approval of the Seminole Tribe. The
Tribe approved of everything Florida State
has done to represent the Seminole
Tribe. The Tribes Council is still in
collaboration with Florida StateUniversity
and as long as Florida
State
represents the
Tribe with honor and respect, the tribal council will continue to let
us keep
the Seminole as our mascot.
When was the
Unconquered Student built? It was
constructed in 2003 and stands 31 feet tall. The
statue is of Osceola and Renegade, this
took many years to develop. A
committee went through several ideas concerning mascots; they wanted
something
about Florida
State University
that represented the faculty, students, and the Seminole tribe. To become a Florida State Seminole, we the
student body of past generations and today can say that everybody
helped to
make our school proud.
The person who is
responsible for the Unconquered Student is Stephen
Reilly. His dedication and persistence
has given Florida State pride and respect.
The people that should be thanked are to numerous to put into this
short essay,
but are stored in the minds of all
Florida State students, faculty and alumni every time you walk past the
statue.
with pride and
honor. In Conclusion, the
Unconquered Student Stature represents persistence, pride, and
glory. Completely respecting traditions and
honoring the Seminole Tribe.
photograph by Jennifer Koslow
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