Campus votes to dump "offensive" mascot

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - Students at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. have voted to dump the university's "offensive" mascot and nickname.  The school's teams are known as the Colonials and their mascot is George the Colonial.

The student body voted to "remove and replace" the mascot, with 54 percent of the students voting to dump it during a student body election last week.

Proponents launched a petition last year to ask the school to dump the 92-year-old mascot in favor of a hippo.  They claimed the term "colonial" is offensive. 

Student Andrew Hesbacher helped launch a petition that led to the vote.  He told the school paper that "the name means such demise and terror for students who could possibly come here."

Conservative student groups came out against the idea.  The Young America’s Foundation urged students to reject the proposal in a Facebook post before the election.

The statement called the mascot a "unifying symbol and an important piece of our community's identity."

School officials have not said if they support the switch.