Students active on campus may notice a famous face missing from events. The Hamline Piper, once a Hamline pride staple, has not been seen at any games, and the athletic department has been quite secretive about his whereabouts.

Hamline’s mascot, the Piper, represents courage, determination and innate drive to take the lead. The Piper, a folktale hero, led the way, helping to remove the rats from the city of Hamlin. Like the Piper of the past, Hamline students are fearless leaders, driven by purpose and passion to set the pace and inspire others along the way.

Since the 1920’s the Piper has changed drastically in image, but the encapsulating beliefs remain the same today. The last wardrobe change and graphic design update was in 2014, and here Hamline is again waiting for another revamp.

While the Piper was active through the summer and the very start of the year, a Piper Mascot makeover is currently in the works. Though there is not a reveal date set for the Piper’s updated look, it has been evident that the Piper has not been attending the school events, and students are beginning to wonder why.

According to John Gutter from the Campus Recreation Program, details about the Piper changes will not be disclosed at this time; however, a cheer team is currently being formed on campus as well to take his place and work with him when he returns. Gutter says students have shown great interest this year in resurrecting the cheer program at Hamline and are off to a great start. Students can expect to see the cheer team at upcoming Piper Athletic events this year.

In regards to the Piper’s upcoming wardrobe change, no one on campus has ever really discussed what is behind the mask. The Piper Mascot is ‘the Piper Mascot’ and NOT ‘a student playing Piper Mascot.’ Since the Piper Mascot does not talk, as is the case with the overwhelming majority of mascots across the country, it is not available for an interview in order to give a sneak peak about its future changes.

Since the revamp is clearly meant to be a surprise, attempts were made to reach out to previous Piper mascot representatives. Remi Remmey simply states, “I’m sorry, I have not been involved with the Piper for two years now.” Therefore not knowing anything about the future revamp either.

When asking for others’ opinions about the whereabouts of the Piper at school events as big as Homecoming, “I didn’t even know we had a mascot” came from a group of first-year students. It is evident that there is a lack of the Piper spirit, and students are awaiting the reveal of the new look with high hopes that the Piper’s return may even spark something within our teams, like the football team to turn their losses around and end on a high note.

The Campus Recreation Program is always looking for students to join the Spirit Program, and who knows, maybe you could help campus find their school spirit. This provides opportunity for students to get involved with the upcoming mascot.