Prompt 11 - Unicorns...why???

by Grace Han Cunningham

Growing up in Durham and as a Duke faculty brat, the only ball game I ever paid attention to was basketball, not football. Plus the school I attended before NCSSM did not have a football team either. I do recall the excitement when the flag football team was established and shortly thereafter, a need for a new and improved mascot, motto and um, school colors.

When we arrived, the school colors were orange and brown. We had the so-called 'flaming diaper' as our logo and our then school motto was selected as "Maius opus moveo," Latin, from Virgil's Aenid and loosely translating to "I accept a greater work" or "I initiated a greater challenge." I believe that is the only item of the original selection that remains unchanged.

Well, that wasn't gonna work for Class of 82 so off we went in search of a new mascot and better colors! The reasoning behind those colors (if I recall correctly) was that no other school had them - for a reason, they were supremely ugly in combination. 

Regarding a new mascot, many ideas were put forth, including The Pioneers, plus a bunch of other mystical creatures. I recall seeing a lot of Mrs. Grossman's and other stickers featuring unicorns around that time at the mall and for some reason, we all thought that would be highly unique mascot - it was and still is! NCSSM is one of about six schools that use the unicorn, with New Braunfels HS in Texas adopting it in 1928. We got around to voting in the Unicorn right before Homecoming and Dedication Week. 

I don't recall exactly when we picked our school colors - the first yearbook was black cloth with a grey silk screened unicorn. But by the 2nd year, we had gravitated towards blue and silver and I believe that yearbooks since then have been that color. Ours had a blue cover and a silver flaming diaper logo embossed on the front, which cost a goodly amount but it was our first graduating class and the yearbook staff really worked our faculty advisor to pay for it. 

Regarding football, one of my favorite NCSSM things I saw in the past (and needs to be put in the Spirit Store) is a t shirt that said NCSSM Football - Undefeated since 1980. I recall Branson was very enthused about flag football teams, cheerleading squads, and games and at some point, discussions were had about silk screening a bunch of unicorn T-shirts. [The only shirts I remember actually screen printing were Morning Has Broken baseball shirts for prom- I wish I still had that one. Joe Liles' art class room remains one of my most vivid best memories of campus life, but that is another story.]