As a child, I watched “Harry and The Hendersons,” a 1987 film, numerous times. It served as my personal introduction to the creature probably related to the very one that rules our school, an individual of a certain ethereal background, who according to some chose SFCC after SFCC chose him.
As for how most would feel about Bigfoot’s decision to stay loyal to our place of education? I am unsure. Seeing as if I were a supernatural being I wouldn’t stay at a Community College in Spokane, but Squatch as he was first known and seemingly his newer counterpart (Possibly his son? Would that mean Harry Henderson is his cousin?)
Skitch is comfortable with transitioning between SCC and SFCC. Although as a student, one has to wonder how our favorite furry figure commutes from one campus to the other, seemingly without issue. Does Skitch take the bus, or does he have a car, and if he does, which car has enough leg room for him to drive comfortably? Has he ever gotten a traffic ticket?! Now that would be a scandal.
So, why Bigfoot? According to a 1992 feature by Alan Rathbone, back when SFCC was transitioning from being a trade school to a community college, the student body, and in a more domineering way the athletic departments at the time, all tried to come to a mutual decision about a mascot.
Rathbone was a previous correspondent of Spokane Community College’s sister newspaper, The Reporter, in 1992, and is now with CCS Information Technology. He said the group went through several suggestions but eventually found they liked none of the suggestions. They wanted to decide for themselves having chosen a mascot that the current students could be proud of and that future students wouldn’t be turned off by. Then a random individual who was part of the group, but can’t be recalled as the creditor for our current mascot, asked “What about Bigfoot?”
Rathbone describes the moment as something of a historical and a fated nature, saying “The room gasped at the thought.”
Bigfoot, Squatch and Skitch, made the perfect fit. How odd, how unique, not a warrior, like the simple Saxons that supplied SCC’s original mascot, but a legend from Pacific Northwest folklore, something most every skier has a story to tell about, whether it be on a road trip to the lodge or while going down the slope.
To finish off, I would like to leave current SFCC students a challenge: Find the most Bigfoot-esque picture you can, dress up as our favorite friendly and furry guy for Halloween, show your school spirit and recognize that students, even if they were here a while ago who chose our mascot. That type of freedom is rare and should be recognized as a victory.