Biting the bullet april 19933/27/2023 ![]() ![]() Unfortunately, a physical bullet mascot either resembles nothing at all or resembles something that is inappropriate in an entirely different way. In 2010, the unofficial Billy the Bullet costume (see over right) made an infamous appearance in a comedic video response to a Jon Stewart segment in which he lambasted Gettysburg College. In 2004, students once again tried to instate a physical mascot, but the administration shot down their attempt as well, despite an updated design (see bottom left). Prior to this, an unknown student used to dress in silver and attend sporting events to represent the mascot. In 1994, a student senator proposed buying a bullet costume to increase school spirit and called for students to submit designs a single design was submitted (see left). More recently in Gettysburg history, Billie Bullet (or Billy the Bullet) was a physical mascot costume. Though the location has moved, the jukeboxes are long gone and the hours are shorter, the name has remained. It had “jukebox dancing at all times when the fountain is open” and operated 8 am to 11 pm daily. The first iteration of the Bullet Hole opened in October 1953 in Weidensall Hall. The “Bullet” mascot was a cartoonish representation of Gettysburg history, disconnected from the reality of the battle.Ģ004 Billy the Bullet mascot design (Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College Archives) It was long after students continued to find bullets, bones and bloody books in and around Penn Hall for years after the battle. So how do we as a College most frequently recognize our connection to “those who here gave their lives that that nation might live”? With our mascot, the “Bullet.” By identifying our school spirit with the weapon that took those lives.Īs early as 1924, The Gettysburgian referred to the College’s sports teams as the “Bullets.” On April 30, 1924, a Gettysburgian headline read “Battlefield Bullets Get Revenge at Collegeville For Previous Defeat On Nixon Field.” That was published 60 years after the Battle of Gettysburg-long enough that students were not so personally connected to the battle or the war. This connection to history is the heart of Gettysburg College. David Wills, a College alumnus, invited Lincoln to speak, and students walked to the Gettysburg National Cemetery to witness the Gettysburg Address. The battle that was the turning point in America’s war for a “new birth of freedom” happened here on campus: Pennsylvania Hall was used as a hospital during the battle. Gettysburg College prides itself on its role in American history. ![]()
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