  == The story behind the name Riverhawk ==  The history of the name Riverhawk presented in this article is somewhat true. The name was voted on by the student body in the fall semester of 1993, a year after the transition from Lowell University to UMASS-Lowell. The measure was brought forward to change the name Chiefs as it was seen as racially insensitive by members of the board of trustees and members of the student council. At no time was pressure brought from an organization outside of the university to change the name.   The three potential mascots, all associated with the Merrimac River, were presented to the student body for a vote. A fourth space was provided for write-ins. After the vote the ballots were tallied by members of Student Government in the SGA offices in Fox Hall.  At the end of the tally Riverhawks actually received the second most votes. The mascot that received the most votes, by almost a two to one margin, was immediately discounted. You see the winning mascot was, as chosen by the student body by write-in vote, the Chiefs. I know this because I was on the student government at the time of the vote and I helped tally the ballots.  