Lee Roby
The Field Falcon spreads its wings and poses as Christ the Redeemer (October 21st, 2022, taken from the Field School’s flickr)
The wings of the Field School Falcon have been dawned by many a student and staff member alike, consistently showing up for dances, games, and gatherings. Yet who is this enigmatic student behind the feathers? What thoughts occur in the foam-lined bird brain? Who gets to embody the soul of the school itself? Is the position like the rank of a Jedi? Or is it more like a Mandalorian- once the mask is donned, it may never be doffed? Recently, there has been a discussion of a new system for selecting the wearer of the bird.
“It’s really done as, like, a collaboration with the athletics department and student government,” says 20-plus Field School veteran and Student Life coordinator Aaron Bachmann. “But when I say student government, I kind of mean me because the student government members don’t know who it is either,” he added with a chuckle, “But beyond that, the selection is actually kind of done by Brendan.”
A shot of Student Life coordinator Aaron Bachmann and Jake Hirsch (November 5th, 2012, taken from the Field School’s flickr)
“I think Aaron has always been in charge of it, but I think what happened this year was [that] I bought a new Falcon suit and threw away the last one,” concurs the current Director of Athletics, Brendan Cole. “I think it could definitely be a joint thing between Aaron and me for student activities and athletics because the mascot is used more than just an athletic thing.”
Director of Athletics Brendan Cole struts down the sidelines of the court (February 22nd, 2022, taken from the Field School’s flickr)
Indeed, while mascots are best known for their appearances at athletics or dances, they are also used to represent the beating heart of the student body. However, the Falcon has not always been as beloved as it is today, even being threatened with being overtaken by the Field Mice at one point.
“For a long time, there was this constant undercurrent of people who were like, ‘We should be the Field mice, as opposed to the Field Falcons,’ and I guess the thought process was [that] it just sort of sounds better? There’s actually field mice, right?” reaches Bachmann, “As opposed to the Field Falcon, which makes us sound like a normal school, like, ‘go, fight, fight, fight!’”
Field has long been a school that has struggled to identify either as a ‘typical’ high school with a rigorous sports and academic curriculum or as a hive for individual expression and creativity. “I think there was a feeling amongst them that they were diametrically opposed. And I don’t see it that way,” continues Bachmann, “Field can simultaneously be a place for really unique creative students and a place where you can have rah-rah school spirit. These things are not in competition with each other…Let’s be both.”
Cole adds what the Falcon means to him, pensively expressing that “I think the Falcon, or any mascot kind of represents the school spirit in general. You know, like, if you go to a game, and there’s a lot of fans in there, and no mascot, it still looks beautiful, but when you do see the mascot, it just brings a different aura to the place.” He concludes by stating that “the Field Falcon is a piece of our community that people want pictures of and memories with…I think it just builds that sense of community.”
Student performs an invasive beak exam on the Falcon (May 27th, 2022, taken from the Field School’s flickr)
While the Falcon is able to juggle representing all facets of the student body, as wearers of the suit graduate and move, it repeatedly becomes necessary to find a person to dawn the beak.
“Making sure that we don’t really associate any particular student with the Falcon is kind of important for the rest of the student body,” elaborates Bachmann, “[but] in a lot of ways, it’s students self-selected.” Still, Bachmann adds that “there’s also obviously some particular size requirements,” as some too-tall-of-stature candidates’ legs would be able to be seen.
SOME AUDIENCES MAY FIND THIS IMAGE DISTURBING – A rare headless photo of the Falcon taking a break (September 28, 2013, taken from the Field School’s flickr)
“I like the idea of a senior, just because that means the Falcon will change every year,” states Cole, “Aaron may think that it should be a freshman, and it goes on a four-year cycle, or whatever. So those are, like, kind of just concepts…Going forward, I do want to set up a process.”
As for how selection has been done previously, Bachmann elaborates, “students have… sometimes come to me, they’ve come to other administrators, they’ve come to Brendan, and I think it’s a sort of more been a, you know, if they’re passionate enough and make a good enough argument, we let them take on the suit.”
Cole wishes for improvements to this current system, mentioning how he’s interested in setting up a process “so where it’s just not, you know, you give it to who asked you the most.” He suggests requirements such as being able to respond to questions about the school’s history, questions “that someone would have to really know the school in order to answer.”
As of now, the best way to get yourself into the comically large shoes of the Falcon is through tenacity, as, according to Cole, “this year, currently, it just went to the person who was the most persistent.”