I never thought I would have to write something like this, but here we are.
Being Ranger Bear is an honor. It is a privilege. It is also, increasingly, a logistical impossibility.
On any given day, I am expected to be everywhere at once. Hyping up a crowd at a game, welcoming prospective students, posing for photos, attending campus events and maintaining what I can only describe as a constant, silent emotional support presence.
I do all of this with enthusiasm. I do all of this with pride. I do all of this as one bear.
And that’s the problem.
Drew University, for all its strengths, has overlooked a critical need: there should be two of me.
Before anyone panics, I am not suggesting a replacement. This is not a “new bear, who dis?” situation.
This is about sustainability. This is about growth.
This is about acknowledging that one mascot cannot physically be in The Forest, the athletic field and the student center at the same time—though I have come alarmingly close.
University President Barack Obama recently told me, “Ranger Bear, you’ve done an outstanding job representing this institution. But we have to consider what adding another bear would mean.”
With respect, Mr. President, I already have.
It would mean fewer scheduling conflicts where I am double-booked and forced to choose between two equally important events. It would mean students no longer asking, “Wait, weren’t you just over there?” in a tone that suggests either confusion or mild existential concern.
It would mean I could fully commit to each appearance without wondering what I’m missing somewhere else. And yes, it would mean more bear.
Some critics have raised concerns about identity. How would students tell us apart? Would it dilute the brand?
These are valid questions, but not unsolvable ones.
We are a university. We can figure out naming conventions. Ranger Bear and Ranger Bear 2. Bear Prime and Bear Plus. I am open to suggestions.
A random student stopped me recently and said, “I think it would be kind of cool, but also kind of unsettling.”
To that, I say: it can be both.
Let’s not ignore the physical reality here, either. The suit is warm. The schedule is packed. The expectations are endless.
There are only so many high-fives one set of paws can deliver in a day before something starts to give. Usually, it’s my internal sense of time.
Even Buck the Bunny, a respected figure in the broader mascot community, weighed in on the issue.
“You never run a full operation with just one character,” Buck told me. “That’s not scalable. That’s a risk.”
Exactly.
This is not about excess; this is about infrastructure. Drew has already shown a willingness to think creatively when it comes to solving problems.
Compared to other recent decisions, adding a second mascot feels almost reasonable.
At the end of the day, this university deserves the best version of Ranger Bear. Right now, that version is stretched thin, occasionally late and, at times, waving at two groups of people who think they are seeing something impossible.
I am asking, simply, for help. Not less spirit. Not less presence.
Just more bear.
Ranger Bear is a mascot majoring in environmental studies and sustainability and minoring in humanities