'Rockland The Hawk' Lands At RCC

Hundreds of Rockland Community College students and faculty welcomed “Rocky the Hawk,” as he made his debut appearance at Club Fest on the RCC main campus in Ramapo.

Excited fans shouting “Rock-ee! Rock-ee!,” rocked the Student Union halls as the 7-foot-tall, green and orange Hawk character greeted students as the new RCC mascot. Many clamored for Rocky’s attention as he tossed T-shirts into the crowd, danced, sparred and mingled with students.

The Hawk has long been the name and symbol for RCC’s athletics teams, and now there’s a real live mascot, brought to life with a little help from his friends in RCC’s Performing Arts department.

A naming contest on RCC’s Facebook page had a place for voters to select either “Rocky” or “Hudson” for the new mascot’s name. The tally was 69% for Rocky vs. 31% for Hudson, and thus a star is born.

“It was very exciting to see that we finally have a school mascot!” said Anjelica Pagnozzi of Pomona, a second-year student at RCC.