For several years, the red ram has been the iconic mascot showcased by the Jamesville-DeWitt School District. Since at least 1986, the ram has been seen on several promotional items tied with the district, including newspapers and shirts. After all, you are reading this on the RamPage.
According to J-DHS Principal Gregory Lawson, the red ram will be receiving a physical mascot before the end of the 2022-2023 school year. During an interview with Lawson, he revealed his inspirations for the mascot. “A lot of the things we do are to help us re-identify who we are at J-D as Red Rams and be active in promoting that. That’s why we have the flag. It’s all in an effort to brand us and give our students and community and a place to focus on.”
The mascot will be seen at sporting and community events, like the musical or a pep rally, and will give people high fives and take pictures with community members. It will also be in different places, whether it be at the high school or the elementary schools, or even the middle school. According to Lawson, “It’s silly and it’s about attention. It’s about giving us something to look at and cheer with and motivate us to be louder or be welcoming to the community.”
The mascot will mainly be a place of attention to bring up spirit and community at events and will be performing a variety of activities, such as cheering and providing excitement. There will be several different students chosen to be the mascot, so there isn’t a need to be overly worried with having to be at every event. The mascot will have to be students from grades 9-11, as they will remain the mascot for the following school year. Applications are currently open, with the costume being expected to arrive by the end of April.
“We’re really serious, and we’re really focused as a school community. We also need to have a little fun,” Lawson states. “I’m looking forward to the day that we’re just having a chill day in the building and there’s a mascot walking in the hallway. I think we deserve that.”
