bulldogs, which bulldogs?

wow, it seems like so long since i've posted something new. wednesday was the last post. i'm not sure why, but i just haven't put up anything new.

today, i was reading on the bee's website and saw this article. it deals with the dilemma that the big local university is having to consider because one of the major gangs in fresno uses their logo. of course, there probably isn't any real solution. some suggested altering the logo, perhaps to "soften" it a little. but, it's not like the gangsters are going to change their name because the bulldog is smiling now or something. and, i doubt they picked up the name because of the menacing bulldog logo. it's more of an affiliation with fresno. [for those that don't know, the bulldogs (gang) are an offshoot of f14. The f was for fresno. the 14 is for n, the 14th letter of the alphabet. n refers to nuestra familia, as well as north (in spanish, too). nuestra familia is a gang that began in california prisons. (but, i think i've seen in other recent articles that the gang is now it's own entity. i don't know.)] i can remember bulldogs being associated with the gang as far back as the late 80's. now, i don't know exactly when it all happened, but i know they've been using the same for quite some time. some of my earliest memories of bulldogs athletics were in the early 80's, with the NIT victory, but i know they had the mascot before then.

the only thing that they could really do would be to change their mascot entirely. but, that wouldn't get rid of the gangsters. and, i doubt the university would be willing to change their mascot due to the cost and "branding" that they've worked hard to establish. yet, one wonders why they wouldn't if they really felt that it was a problem. many universities have changed their mascots completely because they were using terms deemed offensive (st john's redmen is an example, they're now the red storm). not that bulldogs is offensive, but if the university really wanted to distance themselves from the gang, a mascot change could be an easy step. the article mentions other universities, like unlv, who's logos were co-opted by gangs. basically, the response has been, "what can you do?" and really, that's the dilemma. if you change your mascot/logo/name, gangs still might use it. are you going to change every time it happens?

i know that eliminating the gang would be a solution. and, the police are trying to do that. but, eliminating gangs is a very difficult proposition. here's an article originally from the ap that talks about trying to do that very thing in los angeles.

what other solutions might be out there?