Elliot Riseman, an Irvington High School Senior, has used his unique filmmaking skills and interest in history to tackle the mystery of the origins of Bulldog, the Irvington High School mascot.  This endearing figure – representing school spirit, town pride and the color green – has long had an important role in the Irvington community.  Elliot realized, however, that Irvington’s Bulldog was not unique and that a large number of Universities and High Schools across the country also has a very similar mascot.  The question was why.

As shown in the video below, Elliot traces the history of the bulldog mascot by interviewing teachers and coaches at Irvington High School, traveling to Yale University to get the story of its bulldog mascot, Handsome Dan, and researching old newspapers and yearbooks.  Through hard work and good cheer, Elliot, alongside cameraman Rem Wise, discovers the actual origins of Irvington’s Bulldog and why that image is so widely used today.