By Lauren Cottle
Staff Writer
APSU Athletic Director Derek van der Merwe spoke at the SGA meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 22, about the APSU logo and collegiate brand identity.
According to van der Merwe, three brand identities build up a university’s image: institutional identity, athletic identity and the university seal.
Van der Merwe said he finds a fault in the APSU logo and plans to create and define a new one. One problem, according to van der Merwe, is that the institutional identity and the athletic identity logos are the same. He aims to make a distinction between the institutional and athletic logo.
“On the field and court, APSU players should look the same, like a team,” van der Merwe said.
Continuity is the second problem with the logo, according to van der Merwe. The mark, he said, gets changed with different distributions.
Because of the varying appearance of the logo, “APSU is viewed as subpar,” van der Merwe said. The new logo, which has not yet been released to the public, will help with design, apparel and marketability, according to van der Merwe.
The athletic director also plans to change the look of APSU’s mascot, the Gov. After having focus groups discuss the aesthetics of the current logo, van der Merwe found some had problems with it.
According to van der Merwe, some found the Gov reminiscent of a “plantation owner” and “not sensitive to minorities.”
The push for a new look for APSU is based on the “great opportunity” van der Merwe said he sees in the rebuilding of the football stadium.
“We want to refine, not refashion, our brand,” van der Merwe said. “We want our identity to be tied to our community… We should always be evolving.”
Tahji Peebles, assistant at Student Life and Engagement, spoke during the 10 minutes allotted for campus community at all SGA meetings.
Peebles encouraged senators to spread the word about the spring 2014 AP Leadership Series, which is sponsored by Student Life and Engagement.
Events in the series include leadership and etiquette luncheons and an interviewing skills workshop.
SGA Chief Justice Kelsey Smith spoke about upcoming spring elections. Senate and executive board applications become available Monday, March 3. The applications are due Wednesday, March 19.
Elections schedule Tuesday, April 1 through Thursday, April 3, but could be extended to allow another voting day.
President Mike Rainer said SGA didn’t lose senators over winter break, something which usually occurs due to grades.
Rainer also said he and Vice President Jessi Dillingham are on the presidential search committee.
Act no. 7 and no. 8 were passed, which aim to change SGA bylaws so the absences per semester allowed for both senators and the executive council are equal.
Resolution no. 16, a bill to repair the sidewalk between the UC and the Honors Commons, was rescinded, or canceled, for further research.
Resolution no. 17 is a formal recommendation to the Environmental Health and Safety to ensure all hand sanitizers on campus stay filled. It was passed unanimously.
Ashton Kearns, a senator representing the college of education, was sworn in to the SGA through an oath of office.TAS
