Sven Alskog
News Editor
Red Hill has neither a symbol of Idaho State University, nor one of its preceding names for the first time since 1916 since the iconic “I” was removed over the summer, something that a new student organization is aiming to change.
In an attempt to bring back traditions and unify the student body, a group called the 1901 Club has been formed at ISU.
The name is an ode to when the institution was formed in 1901, then known as the Academy of Idaho.
Led by the efforts of President Tynan O’Neil and Vice President Rachel Bishop, the 1901 Club has formulated ideas for placements and uses of an interlocking “I-S” throughout campus. Both students are ambassadors, a program led by Craig Joseph, a former ISU football player who is handling the advising duties for the new club as well.
This “I-S” logo is the same one used by ISU athletics which can be seen at midcourt for basketball games or the 50-yard-line at Holt Arena.
Rather than go back to the “I” which had donned the side of Red Hill for years, students have expressed an interest in creating a new symbol.
“The ‘I’ is representative of the University of Idaho,” said Bishop. “We were trying to find something that represents ISU.”
“This summer we thought ‘how could we make it happen?’” added O’Neil. “So we made a Facebook page and within two days we had over 200 likes.”
Seen on the Facebook page titled “Bengals for an Interlocking I-S” are graphics created by O’Neil and Bishop of places where the logo could potentially be placed.
The large staircase heading to the computer lab in Rendezvous and Red Hill are the two main areas of focus so far, while other discussion has surfaced of putting a statue of the logo outside Reed Gym. This statue would light up at night to allow visibility at all times.
Similar to when the “T” was originally placed on the hill to represent the Idaho Technical Institute, the interlocking “I-S” has generated buzz from the students. The hope for the club members is that when presenting these ideas to the public, the benefits will outweigh any potential opposition.
O’Neil discussed some of the selling points of placing the logo on the large staircase in Rendezvous.
“It provides that wow factor,” he stated. “It’s one of the routes we go on giving campus tours [for my ambassador position]. It shows these prospective students, ‘wow, our school really likes us.’”
For the logo on the staircase, O’Neil stated that a cling would be used rather than paint, resulting in less of an upkeep cost due to the expected higher durability.
The hope with many of the ideas being formulated by the club is to bring recognizable features to ISU.
“We are pursuing an identity we want to have for the university,” said O’Neil.
“When we come back to campus after graduation we want to say that the “I-S” is up there because of us,” added Bishop.
The new club has also helped to bring back traditions such as the bell ringing at home football games and the playing of the fight song from the clock tower at noon each day.
