Our Logo: What is it?

“Truth” can be a difficult term to define, much less assign a symbol to. 

If asked to enivision a universal image for the word "truth" some might see "scales of Justice," others, Platos' Allegory of the Cave or even others, the sun. American political history has a story for truth: George Washington and the Cherry Tree. It is not an emergence from falsehood to truth, but rather an example of integrity and in its own, purest form, an absolute truth—an admittance of fault, recognition of a problem, and an understanding that the “power and capacity to learn exists in the soul already.” 

It seems as though modern American politics has lost that integrity, and equally as vital, lost the honor and grace by which we search for truth, and conduct discourse on the issues we face today. We lack an essential truth, and our media outlets and politicians alike paint the world into shadows. It is now our job, a new generation, to begin to see with our own eyes. We have the duty to search for the truth, and act on it with honor and integrity. 

And, as you may have noticed, each part of the organization is reflected in part of the logo.

The Cherry Tree is the written, visual embodiment of this integrity. The Tree on its own captures this: the roots from which the search for truth will grow. We prefer not to play the cherry blossom tree v. cherry tree game—it’s a little ambiguous and we like it that way.

The Blossom, the image used for CAMPUS (and Blossom, the campus publications) are the flowers that both depend on the tree for growth, and fly in the wind, spreading the kernels that gives life to trees all over. Blossom is the youthful energy that brings color to the tree, and ensures that IDEAL thrives. 

And finally, the Petals of COMMUNITY. For IDEAL to be effective, we have to be on-the-ground, as they say, listening to the community members who understand their communities best. The petals are reflective of the team effort that goes into democratic change—we are all different colors, shapes, and sizes, but we all fall from the same tree. Together, we can lay the groundwork in search of a new IDEAL.