Those of you who have been to a home basketball game this semester probably have noticed the new face in the Smith Center.

Apparently, we have a second mascot. The rather large abomination you may have seen waddling around the sidelines is not an overgrown punching bag. He is “Big George,” the “bounciest, biggest, rolly polliest, silliest, softest, cuddliest, super sensational Colonials basketball fan,” according to a Student Activities Center press release.

Well he may be all those things, but he is also yet another ridiculous promotion associated with our basketball programs. You think a lesson would have been learned with the meteoric rise and fall of “Super Fan” last season. (In case you don’t remember, somebody at GW came up with the bright idea of giving the most annoying person on campus a microphone at basketball games to pump up the crowd. Predictably, the effort failed miserably.) What GW fans like to see at basketball games is good basketball, not stupid sideshows.

While our regular mascot (I guess we have to call him “Little George” to avoid confusion now) is not the greatest mascot in the world, he certainly has his charm. Now we are going to be slapped with the unwanted recognition of having one of the worst mascots in the Atlantic 10, if not the nation. Yes, I am afraid “Big George” rivals the annoying St. Joseph’s Hawk, which flaps its “wings” throughout every game.

For example, he is supposed to be able to run, jump, skip, hop, bounce and leap, according to SAC, but the only skills I have seen from “Big George” are waddling and pointing. At the women’s game against Duquesne, he bounced a basketball a few times and then watched helplessly as the ball rolled away from him. I have no idea how much money has been, or will continue to be, spent on “Big George” (or its better known name, Project “Let’s Waste Money on Something to Embarrass GW”), but whatever the amount, I am sure it could be better spent on something else. Like money to buy pants to replace the black ones all the women on campus wear to go out clubbing.

And I’m not kidding – the two times I have seen “Big George” appear, I have been embarrassed to be a part of this University. I am sure my embarrassment would be increased tenfold if I ever saw “Big George” outside of the friendly confines of the Smith Center, which is a real possibility. SAC also has informed me that he “is available for birthday parties, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, weddings, graduations and grand openings.” Why you would want “Big George” to appear at any of these events, I have no idea, but it can only add to the denigration of our image as an institution of higher learning.

So, instead of giving him a hug to welcome him to GW, as SAC suggests in its press release, I suggest a call to arms by the student body. I think GW would be a better place to go to school if “Big George” ceased to exist (no offense to the guy who is inside the costume). We got rid of “Super Fan,” and I think we can get rid of “Big George” if we put our minds to it.

Encourage “Little George” to use his hatchet on his bigger, rolly-pollier alter-ego. Or take the law into your own hands and take the air out of “Big George” yourself. I know many people, myself included, would thank you.