Lexington Lynx, the beloved CUNY SPS mascot, was born back in 2011 from a combination of the School’s physical location and its online presence. Lex’s name combines the School’s former proximity to Lexington Avenue in Manhattan at the CUNY Graduate Center, and the word “hyperlinks,” a reference to online learning.

Lexington Lynx’s first big outing took place 12 years ago in Central Park to cheer on the students who walked the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The costume was worn by Associate Director of Student Services Anthony Sweeney, who later explained his experiences playing Lex there and at a few commencement ceremonies when SPS used to hold graduation at Lincoln Center.

“I did a photoshoot with Lex in Central Park and on the streets around SPS since,” Sweeney said. “But Parsh primarily wears it now.”

When SPS Student Life Coordinator Parshotam Lal is not too busy with his office responsibilities, he is also Lexington Lynx at campus events. He wears the costume for all hosted events of the campus community, whether it involves students or other departments requesting Lex’s services.

As the student life coordinator, it’s only fitting for Lal to wear the costume and rally the students to be present at the in-person campus events. Lal emphasized that to be a mascot requires more than just wearing the costume; it’s about being someone who knows how to engage with people.

Despite the wintertime chill, Lal admits that the costume can get warm, especially during the summer months. “We have things to keep the body cool in it, but it gets hot in there,” Lal said.

Reflecting on his time as Lexington Lynx, Lal recalled his funniest time as the mascot during the winter party two years ago. The event began with Lex’s introduction and all props set up, and Lal expressed his delight to see smiles, laughs, children, and students coming up to take photos with him as Lexington Lynx.

“It’s a great time! Overall it is a nice experience and people like the Lynx coming out,” Lal explained. “I try to put on different costumes, like an SPS t-shirt, use different props, whatever comes along, but it was a good thing to put on Lex.”

Though CUNY SPS does not yet have athletics teams to feature Lexington Lynx, CUNY SPS Student Services was inspired to think about intramural sports, which steered the launch of the E-Sports Club to influence students’ interest in athletics.