The adoption of the Duke Blue Devil namesake can illuminate the effects of tradition, conformity, desensitization, and more alarmingly, the power of corporations.
Regarding the naming process in 1921,The Trinity Chronicle remarks in a column, “The idea is not the property of one individual or one organization, it is a College proposition and it embraces the past as well as the present” (Blue Devil Reference Collection, Duke University Archives).
Ironically, it was the Trinity Chronicle, not the Board of Trustees or Trinity administration, that decided to become the governing body on naming affairs (Blue Devil Reference Collection, Duke University Archives). The Chronicle instituted an unsanctioned third party takeover of a public intercourse. A university matter thus forth became the matter of an independent organization, limiting what students could do. The Chronicle invited public suggestions for names, but the Trinity College men’s football team did not become the Catamounts or Blue Titans. After student opinion failed to reach a majority consensus, the Trinity Chronicle adopted the Blue Devil moniker to its own discretion; whether public input did or did not influence the decision is not clear. The matter, while apparently trivial today, finds itself a part of a growing trend of third-party self-autonomy. What happens when Apple stops listening to user feedback? Google? Banks?
At least one student took issue with the Trinity Chronicle self-authorizing itself to rename Trinity College athletic teams. Walter Turrentine, opining in a 1922 Trinity Chronicle article entitled, “Why Should the Chronicle Rename the Team”, states:
“So our athletic teams have been named. The unfortunate part of it all is this: the parents of the baby had nothing to do with the naming of it. The name came from another source. The only time when the mother and the father had anything to say at all was on several occasions when names were being suggested, they not only failed to adopt the proposed name, but REJECTED it.” (Blue Devil Reference Collection, Duke University Archives).
Another student took issue with the use of a “devil”. J.L Jackson writes in the same issue of the Trinity Chronicle:
“The name Blue Devils neither symbolizes nor suggests the ideals and fighting spirit which are a vital part of Trinity… The word devil is seldom associated with any organization or institution dedicated to worthy purposes and noble ideals… The word devil suggests an individual who takes every unfair advantage, winning against those who are physically and morally weak, but fleeing from organized courage and healthy determination. A devil’s victories are undeserved.” (Blue Devil Reference Collection, Duke University Archives).
It is likely impassioned letters from students reacting to the authority of The Chronicle and the Blue Devil named continued after the naming process concluded. Still, the “Blue Devil” honorific did not change. A gradual acceptance may have arose, and as objection ceased, the “Blue Devil” name solidified.
William Lander, writing again from the Alumni Register, remarks, “Through sheer use and repetition, the name eventually caught on… and really “went to town” when Duke University appeared on the map with its “first-rate football teams” (Blue Devil Reference Collection, Duke University Archives).
(Blue Devil Reference Collection, Duke University Archives).
