The Student Organization Council has teamed up with ShopColumbia to create a new line of Cosmos merchandise ahead of the one-year anniversary of Columbia’s new mascot.
When SOC announced the mascot last November, it did not yet have a character to represent it. Cosmos replaced the Renegades, Columbia’s mascot for nearly two decades.
Cosmos is now represented by a vibrant blue light swirling into a star with a purple center. Jadyn Kowalkowski, a sophomore musical theatre major, designed the Cosmos character for the merchandise line.
SOC Vice President Brady Charles, a senior marketing major, said the idea for the merchandise began with an open submission process that allowed students to enter their original designs.
“We held an open submission form for any number of students to submit what they thought the idea for the Cosmos should look like,” Charles said.
After receiving submissions, SOC reviewed the designs internally and narrowed them down to a smaller selection.
“We had an internal panel in our office to review submissions and narrow it down to a smaller number,” Charles said.
Charles said the merchandise is part of a larger effort to build school spirit and create a shared identity among students.
“I think we’re trying to build a bigger sense of that school spirit, and sometimes a mascot or that kind of unified identity can just help a little bit,” Charles said.
The merchandise line features two T-shirts in teal and lavender, a teal hoodie, a snapback hat and a water bottle.
“Everyone who comes to Columbia is a Cosmo, and we really want to build that identity around it,” Charles said.
The merchandise underwent a brief test launch over the past couple of weeks before SOC’s official launch on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at ShopColumbia.
Tracey Drobot Brouwer, ShopColumbia’s operations coordinator, said the merchandise provides students with another way to show their support to their community.
“I think people are excited that there’s merchandise to purchase to support their teams and Columbia,” Drobot Brouwer said.
Drobot Brouwer also said the merchandise aligns with ShopColumbia’s want to encourage student creativity and involvement on campus.
“I think the merchandise fits seamlessly with our mission,” Drobot Brouwer said.
Typically, 75% of the profits from work featured at ShopColumbia go to student artists, while the remaining 25% goes toward operating costs. For the Cosmos merchandise, while 50% of the profits go to operating costs, the other 50% of the proceeds will go back to student organizations.
Taryn Yahn, a junior ASL-English interpretation major, said that returning proceeds to student organizations is essential.
“I think it’s important that we put back into the communities that make Columbia what it is,” Yahn said.
Yahn emphasized that student organizations play a significant role in shaping Columbia’s campus culture and creating opportunities for students to connect.
“Our clubs create so much of the Columbia experience and culture on campus, and putting money back into those spaces so that we can continue to foster the environments that we want to see on campus is so important,” Yahn said.
Looking ahead, Yahn hopes SOC can expand the merchandise selection to include more products, particularly beanies.
Copy edited by Isaac Russo
