Sergio Bardesi-Texocotitla
A&E and Chive Editor
An integral point of identity for Lake Forest College: Boomer the Bear. He has been performing on campus since 1995. In spring 2020, due to health concerns arising from the pandemic and a rather small audience on campus, the athletics department put Boomer the Bear into hibernation. In summer 2020, Boomer let out a low, rumbling yawn and began a slow, difficult return to the minds of Foresters.
Prior to Boomer the Bear, many others have borne the mantle of mascot, according to an article from Spectrum titled “What’s a Forester?” These included “a Bulldog, Red Devil, Gold Coaster, Jaybird, and a Lumberjack…” named Jim Forester who was well-liked between the 1950s and 1970s. However, this mascot “was curtailed in the early 1980s when students and staff complained about its potential sexist and anti-environmental message.” So, Lake Forest College went without a mascot for nearly a decade.
According to Athletics Marketing and Program Coordinator Kelsey Carter, a mascot for a school is “a fixture.”
“People… might not know anything else…but they know our mascot’s Boomer,” Carter said. “Especially for younger kids, they know they’re coming to see Boomer and [that] Boomer’s their friend. And Boomer’s going to remember them even if the person in Boomer is not the same person.”
Carter continued on this subject, “Mascots are always a fixture because you always know that person [the mascot] is always going to be there. A lot of times, you find people that,as they get to learn more about sports, especially kids, and they get more comfortable around sports, they always remember the mascot that got them into it more than anything… It’s something you can associate with that team.”
The Spectrum article highlighted the student’s desire for this “fixture.”
In an interview with Vice President for Career Advancement and Athletics Jackie Slaats, who has also been a part of the College community for nearly 29 years, in 1995 the student athletic council led an effort that culminated into an energetic, campus-wide final vote between: “a bear, an owl, and a deer.”
Due to that final vote, approximately 26 years ago, the bear became the Forester family’s mascot. The bear would go nameless for nearly another decade. In the mid-2000s, the student athletic council once again created a community vote to decide upon a name for the black bear. The community bestowed upon the bear the name Boomer.
Boomer the Bear has appeared at a wide variety of on-campus events. According to Associate Director of Athletics Blake Theisen and Carter, Boomer appears at admissions open houses, Forester Fair, athletic events, check-in days, Forester Friday kick-off, the Forester Day of Service, and Relay for Life. He may also be requested for special events. If there’s a big away game, Theisen continued, “We’ll have Boomer travel with the fans.”
At the beginning of the pandemic, Theisen said that Boomer the Bear was shelved due to concerns and a lack of knowledge surrounding COVID-19. They wanted to avoid the costume being donned by multiple people, so Boomer the Bear was retired to Halas Hall. Within the athletics department, this period was referred to as his “hibernation.”
When asked about the “hibernation,” Slaats responded, “I never thought we would have to put Boomer in hibernation.”
According to Carter, the athletics department slowly started allowing Boomer the Bear to appear in social media posts by the end of that same spring semester. Carter said that Boomer the Bear took part in a year-long social media campaign that featured him visiting students, staff, and professors on-campus as well as learning sports with various coaches.
This past spring semester, Boomer the Bear returned to a less-involved schedule that accommodated a lack of students and staff that wanted to wear the suit. At the time of these interviews in late October, Theisen and Carter noted difficulties in finding students willing to bear the pride that comes with becoming Boomer the Bear. Theisen said, “I would love to have Boomer more visible at things, but there’s just limits on, y’know, staffing Boomer…”
“I would say it was not very fun putting Boomer into hibernation, but it was great to have Boomer come back out,” Slaats said. Slaats recalled scenarios at sporting events during the spring semester of 2021, where there were a limited number of fans. Slaats recalled that they created “fans in the stands,” which were cardboard cutouts of various people and even dogs.
Toward the end of spring semester, “I was pretty excited when Boomer made its way to our golf outing, and it was fun to see Boomer at graduation,” she said. “I just remember [that] people at graduation…were so excited, and it was nice.” At this point in the interview, Slaats took out her phone and showed me dozens of pictures featuring various alumni and families standing next to Boomer the Bear.
So, Boomer the Bear may seem to serve as brand recognition, but he is much more than that. He is a staple in the community, one that has been missed by many students. According to Theisen, due to the pandemic, it is obvious that his disappearance should coincide with a general decrease in school spirit.
Slaats’ made a remark about school spirit when she thought about the recent at-home games this past fall, of which Slaats said, “Folks must have missed it because crowds have been really awesome… All of our contests have been…really well attended, which is fantastic.”
