The Occidental College athletics department announced their new slogan “One Tiger, Many Stripes” replacing “All in for Oxy,” via Instagram Oct. 5.
According to Director of Athletics Shanda Ness, the athletic department coordinated with the Intercultural Community Center (ICC) to create a slogan that embodies the supportive and inclusive culture of Occidental.
“The slogan was recently changed to align with our values, work and programming in the area of equity and inclusion within athletics,” Ness said via email.
Ness said the athletics department realizes that a slogan by itself does not necessarily make a change, but it does leave an impression. According to Ness, the impression that the athletic department hopes the new slogan will leave is one of unity and support.
“‘One Tiger’ speaks to the unity within Occidental Athletics in that it is our goal to support each other and help all programs rise together. ‘Many stripes’ reminds us that within our community, we all come to Occidental with our own identities and experiences, and it is important to honor and support those experiences and the things that make us unique,” Ness said via email.
According to Assistant Athletic Director and women’s head basketball coach Anahit Aladzhanyan, the athletic department has been working on this change since the end of the Spring 2020 semester.
“It signifies our renewed and unified spirit in Oxy Athletics to invite, acknowledge, and celebrate all identities, races, and backgrounds into, and in, our community,” Aladzhanyan said via email.
Aladzhanyan said she hopes this will foster an increased sense of welcoming and belonging in the athletics community.
“We felt it was important to share and encourage progress in our vision, intentions, and actions to create spaces and experiences we can all take pride in while striving for excellence, together!” Aladzhanyan said via email.
According to lacrosse defender Claire Olson (first year), this change communicates to them that athletes are more than just their sport. Olson said the new slogan helps to fight against the separation between athletes and non-athletes that their teammates expressed.
Olson said the first step for Occidental Athletics to better embody “One Tiger, Many Stripes” is to communicate with athletes more.
“We get that everything is uncertain right now. We just want to be included. I want to know that I can trust people making decisions. And right now, it just feels like athletes are being left out of that,” Olson said.
