New College House is about to unveil their new crest — and residents can vote on it

Penn’s older college houses all have their own unique traditions. Soon, students hope, New College House will too.

The newest addition to Penn’s campus will soon decide one of the final elements of its house customs: the college house crest.

The Dean of New College House, Trina Nocerino, said the crest is an integral part of how New College House presents itself to the larger Penn community.

“It is not just about having the representation, but the conversation — that people are able to know that this is what we stand for as a community,” Nocerino said.

College freshman George Costidis is an active member of the Traditions Commission, a group of students, graduate associates and administrators that helps craft New College House’s traditions. He joined with the hope of making a long term impact on New College House and on Penn in general.

“It is really a blank slate. Anything that we want to happen, we can let happen. It’s a really cool aspect that I really appreciate,” Costidis said.

Costidis found that there is significant interest from house residents in things like the house colors, mascot and motto. He believes the chance to contribute to a burgeoning culture entices and excites residents — such as himself — to participate.

Graduate Associate Tyler Hallmark , also a leader on the Traditions Commission, explained the applications process: Residents submitted their artwork to be considered for the crest and included a description.

The commission provided several guidelines — the crest had to include house colors, the house mascot, the house motto and the four "pillars" of the house: diversity, leadership, research and sustainability.

When the other house crests were created years ago, students submitted works, but then a professional designer made sure all the crests were uniform. Hallmark said that a similar process will occur for New College House’s crest, although they will now use a designer affiliated with Penn for final review. The crest will not be made official until that process is done.

College freshman Antonio Ramirez became a member of the Traditions Commission after he found out about the program though Hallmark, who is his GA. Ramirez said he believes that even with the finalization of the crest, there is still ample work to be done.

“There are plenty of traditions that we have to [still] think about and carry out.”

The vote for the final design of the crest is taking place on Sunday.