It seems like there are have been a lot more people sporting Marquette Golden Eagle gear lately. At first we thought we were imagining things, but then it occurred to us that this could be part of the university's new marketing push. We contacted the Marquette Spirit Shop to see if they knew what was up.

They responded that "the Marquette Golden Eagle has been reworked to embody the strength, pride and power that have long symbolized the athletic department's programs." Efforts to contact the marketing department were not returned.

We are the Marquette Golden Eagles. This symbol is great—it is who we are, and there is nothing wrong with "wearing our hearts on our sleeves," so to speak. The "strength, pride and power" stuff is all wonderful.

The issue we see in this situation is the abundance of school symbols: the "We Are Marquette," the "MU" monogram and now the updated golden eagle.

Unfortunately, none of these logos stands out as dominant. This results in a lack of a specific symbol that people can look at and know, without a doubt, that it represents Marquette. We just wish the university would pick a logo and stick with it.

According to the Spirit Shop, the symbol used on athletic uniforms "will remain the MU monogram, first introduced in 2005." So let's review—recent new eagle symbol, new monogram in 2005, and the recent push of the "We Are Marquette" slogan. Where is the representation of the years of history and rich tradition that made Marquette what it is today?

While other schools may have multiple symbols, most seem to have one primary logo that people identify with the school that alumni get nostalgic over when they see it. We should have a logo that can be visualized when you hear Marquette.

A good example of this is Notre Dame; the immediate mental picture is the "ND" overlapping letters logo. Upon seeing this logo, no one stops and wonders "ND, ND…hmm, is this supposed to be North Dakota or something?" Notre Dame's symbol is instantly recognizable. The fact that we are yet again using another symbol is a step further away from establishing that kind of identity.

The old Golden Eagle was also better than the new logo, which looks ridiculously similar to that of Southern Mississippi.

We hope the university will take steps to remedy this problem. Multiple logos are fine, just pick one for us to rally around.

Quit changing and updating our symbols‐our identity as a school is not a mere marketing strategy and should not be called into question.