Welcome Back Recap
As mentioned yesterday, I went to Welcome Back Day 2009 at Nicholls State University to catch a glimpse of the unveiling of the new Col. Tillou costume. Since my friend Hollie started all the trouble on Facebook with the “I Hate The New Col. Tillou” group, we needed pictures. She ended up being swamped at work, so I went instead.
I haven’t been on foot on campus in about 6 years. It was nice to see lots of new street signs, new dorms, new apartments, and the like. It was kind of sad that the dorms I lived in are all gone now. The price of progress, I guess.
Welcome Back Day is more than the Tillou unveiling. It is also a smorgasbord of student organizations desperately pleading for an apathetic student body to join their cause and make the University a better place. There are tables everywhere, all with some sort of Hollywood theme. None of this is what you are interested in though.
You want to hear about Col. Tillou, also known as the reason I drove 90 minutes on a Thursday. The festivities started close to on time, but the emcee handed it off to one person, who gave the mic to another, then another, then back to the emcee, who introduced someone else. Finally, it was time to reveal Tillou. The only problem is that no one knew where he was coming from.
Suddenly, one of those long golf carts that you see used to shuttle people around comes rolling up with curtains over the back half. Tillou is way too big, so it takes him a moment or two to get out. But he does. The student reaction, which is what I wanted to experience, was not dissimilar to that of the Facebook group. Nazi, Commie, Gen. M Bison, and the like were all student reactions to the mascot. Laughter was heard, as well as some polite clapping. Although I don’t care for the new likeness, I got the feeling that a majority of the students, at least, didn’t mind having Tillou back. It’s been a few years, so few of the current students were even at Nicholls when Tillou was abolished in the first place.
One thing that I did find interesting was that a number of black students didn’t like that his skin was gray. Most would have preferred him be white to gray. Maybe he can be cross-promoted with G.I. Joe and be Destro’s long lost cousin. Anyway, here are some pictures for you to enjoy.
