Salem was the seventh public high school built out of eleven in Virginia Beach and from 1989 to 1991, our students and staff were without a motivational leader, otherwise known as a school mascot.

“Every school in Virginia Beach has its own Mascot and each mascot has a story,” said retired School Activities Coordinator, Mr. Mark Harrison.

First Colonial’s mascot, established in 1966, references George Washington’s personal army and Green Run’s stallions refer to the horse farms that surrounded the school in ‘79.

So what is the background of our mascot?

In 1987, when our school was first built, on the cleared lot of the Martin Farm it was said small dust devil tornadoes would form on windy days due to the open land. The small tornados provided a fun and unique origin story about the new high school.

“There was a committee of a number of people that were trying to decide on school colors and a school mascot,” said Harrison. Originally it was the ‘Dust Devils’ and then it went to become the SunDevils.”

The official decision came in 1991 and our mascot was named Sunny.

“Sunny is a motivator, he gets around, doesn’t stand in one spot, and he encourages those to get off their feet and participate,” said Mr. Tabb Pearson.

However, it did not take long for the wind of our SunDevil to catch the attention of Arizona State University (ASU). In 2007, ASU filed legal action citing that our school was using their trademarked “Sun Devil” name. The case concluded that Sun Devil was their federal trademark, but SunDevils, one word, was ok for us to use.

Sunny the SunDevil (capital D) has been a symbol at every pep rally since, but during the recent pandemic, the Sunny costume was put in storage for an extended period of time.

We didn’t have in person pep rallies from late 2020 to until early 2022 and our school spirit wasn’t the same without our beloved mascot. The only time the new generation has seen Sunny appear was at freshman orientation.

“I think we need to step our mascot game up,” said Current Student Activities Coordinator Sarah Fernheimer.

The past few years we have struggled to find a volunteer to be Sunny year-round. Fernheimer is determined to see a change and is considering mascot auditions; looking for someone who is “lively and isn’t afraid to dance.” She wants to see Sunny at all Salem events such as pep rallies, freshmen orientation, sporting events, and SCA events.

“Sunny’s job is to pump up the audience and our student body,” said Fernheimer.

From the “Dust Devil” to the “SunDevil” the intent of our mascot remains the same.

“I would say that the SunDevil is representative of a free spirit willing to take chances, try new things, and make things work,” said Harrison.

Harrison believes the hidden meaning behind the origin story of the “Dust Devils” is symbolism that we are the most free-spirited high school in the beach. It is up to the new generation to restore the SunDevil spirit and that started out with a bang with Sunny’s appearance at the October 7th pep rally.

Sunny the SunDevil is an encouragement, an inspiration, a leader, and a motivator.