Walter M. Williams High School - Mascot and Traditions

Mascot and Traditions

The school seal was approved by vote of the student body on September 29, 1961, as was the school's Alma Mater, with words by athletic director Fred Miller and music by Harold Grant, director of bands. The seal was among forty potential seals submitted for consideration. The creator of the winning design received a prize of $7.00. The fightsong Onward Bulldogs is set to the tune of On Wisconsin.

The mascot is the bulldog, which has manifested itself over the years by costumed students and real dogs (one of which was named George I). An avant-garde statue of George was dedicated outside the auditorium in 1974 in memory of Cynthia Lemar Ledbetter (a student who died in 1971) and other deceased students. The statue which sits prominently on a pedestal in Bulldog Plaza on the east side of campus, is a focal point of school-wide celebrations, and is an object of scorn and derision of students from rival high schools. It was designed by sculptor Norman Keller of East Carolina University (The Barker, December 16, 1971).

School colors are black and gold, the same colors as Wake Forest University, where Williams served on the Board of Trustees.

The names of the yearbook is the Doe-Wah-Jack, an American Indian term meaning "the first, the best" and has been the name of the yearbook since the school opened in 1951 (and was previously the name of the Burlington High School yearbook since 1926).

The newspaper is The Barker, taking its title from the sound made by the mascot. The newspaper has received awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

Upon the consolidation of the former Jordan Sellars High School into Williams at the time of school integration, a student task force representative of both schools attempted to incorporate traditions from both schools into the newly integrated Williams (1999 Williams Alumni Directory).