No Longer Inventing the Future?
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The day everything changed started as a regular Tuesday on campus, students going about their day as they walked to class, grabbing food and finishing any last-minute assignments. As always, students proudly wore their maroon and orange Virginia Tech apparel as they crossed the Drillfield.
Suddenly, I received a notification on my email. I go to check as I always do, and it’s titled, “A Brand to Match Virginia Tech’s Momentum.” I looked it over, and was shocked to find that our classic VT logo had been modernized.
On the official Virginia Tech Instagram account, virginia.tech, a video was uploaded to reveal the look of the new logo, showing President Tim Sands putting on a tie along with a student putting on a shirt, both symbolizing the look of the new logo.
According to the official school announcement, “the logo’s openness and shape highlight Virginia Tech’s identity as an inclusive community.” While it does have a strong and meaningful message, many of the students here at Tech feel passionately about this change.
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THOSE IN FAVOR
“I find it a nice logo; however, I don’t believe it is worth the cost to create and implement.” – Tyra Anderson, Class of 2019
“I am extremely excited for the future of Virginia Tech! Although some aren’t necessarily supportive of this concept, I think it represents the Hokie Nation moving forward into new areas of innovation, technology, and diversity. The logo is more fresh looking and there is also a new modern color palette that I like!” – Kaitlyn, Class of 2019
“I like this logo because it is important for companies, like Virginia Tech, to rebrand themselves every once-and-awhile. It still communicates the same message while changing a few things up!” – Madison, Class of 2018
“The look of it doesn’t really bother me that much. I know some people didn’t like it because of what it stood for but didn’t really effect me.” -Lissandra, Class of 2019
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THOSE WHO OPPOSE
“Totally makes sense to spend $25,000 on a logo that no one wanted and doesn’t make sense because ONE CURVY LINE DOES NOT EQUAL DIVERSITY. Whoever thought they could equate a squiggle with a diverse campus and a mix of STEM and liberal studies was stupid and wasted money that could’ve been used on a parking lot or something.” – Ashleigh, Class of 2019
“I don’t hate it, but I really liked the old logo better. I think the old one represents Virginia Tech a lot better than this one.” – Sarah, Class of 2020
“I think it’s too similar to the athletic logo, and I prefer the old one. I think the pylons incorporated into it made for a more meaningful design.” – Corinne Gorda, Class of 2020
“I don’t hate the logo itself, but I don’t think a change was necessary. Students embrace our tagline, “invent the future,” and not having it in the new logo seems like a downgrade. It might be more modern and trendy, but our old logo was professional and dignified. Maybe I should read up on it, but I don’t understand why they created a new one.” – Bailey Black, Class of 2019
“I’m honestly pretty shook.” – Bryli, Class of 2018
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While there has been no response from the top about the reaction of the Virginia Tech class, students are taking action themselves to implement change. Those who are upset have started a petition to reinstate the classic logo. As of when this article was written, the petition has garnered 5,533 supporters ranging from students to alumni. If you want to help restore the old logo, you can sign the petition here.