By Tyler Shultz
Staff Writer
Over Homecoming Week, Cal State Dominguez Hills rolled out a new and improved Teddy the Toro mascot.
With the previous mascot costume being over five years old, Student Affairs believed that students deserved a new mascot — not only for athletics, but for the rest of the campus as well.
Student Affairs plans to work with other organizations on campus, such as Associated Students Inc. and the Office of Student Life, to integrate Teddy into more on-campus events.
To help with the rollout of the new Teddy, the college enlisted the help of student Kendis Bood, who helped create the Teddy promo videos that were shared on all CSUDH social media accounts.
“I believe our new Teddy will bring a dynamic change to our school’s campus, which we needed,” Bood said.
The new Teddy costume comes with a few changes necessary to make Teddy stand out like some of the better mascots of our generation, such as Benny the Bull of the Chicago Bulls or the Phillie Phanatic of the Philadelphia Phillies.
The new Toro costume allows a wider range of motion by being more flexible and leaner. The costume also has newer, better shoes and a cooling fan.
Though exact figures were not yet available, funding came from the college president and cabinet.
According to Marcus Jones, communications coordinator who works with the new mascot, the final costs haven’t been tabulated, as they are still testing out some of the features and figuring out the wardrobe.
As for who is behind the mask, Jones mentioned that there are plans to have a few students play Teddy throughout the year.
Before photo:
After Photo:
