Vote for UHCL’s official hand sign

By Troylon Griffin II, Editor-in-Chief On Sep 28, 2021 433 0

Hand signs have long been a staple of campus spirit and life. Now, UHCL’s Hawk Spirit & Traditions Council (HSTC) is encouraging the student body to vote on an official hand sign for the university.

Kalena Williams, computer engineering major and communications coordinator for HSTC, spoke on the importance of UHCL having a hand sign.

“A hand sign is a great way to distinguish a university from other schools and give students, staff, and alumni the feeling of belonging to a university, especially one as amazing as UHCL,” Williams said. “UHCL is a branch of U of H, but UHCL has been trying to define ourselves more than just the Clear Lake branch of U of H. Thinking back UHCL adopted the hawk (Hunter the Hawk) as a way to identify ourselves and we think a hand sign will help identify us as the UHCL Hawks and would aid with our school’s identity.”

The council hopes the hand sign will be used to express school pride and be used for posing for pictures.

Students have the opportunity to vote for the three potential hand signs. The council saw it as important for students to vote on the hand sign to ensure the sign properly represents the community.

“We believe everyone has a right to make their voice heard especially for something that will be around for a long time and will be a representation of our university,” Williams said. “We feel like voting on a hand sign versus just providing one to the UHCL community was a better option and would encourage students to use the hand sign more especially if they got to choose what the hand sign should be.”

Williams said much time and research went into deciding which hand signs would be the final options the UHCL community would vote on. All three hand signs have been through a thorough screening process by students, staff, and administration to make sure they represent UHCL.

The council has not decided how they will announce the winning hand sign, but plan to announce the official winner before the end of the fall semester. Students may vote on GetInvolved until September 30.