By: Anisha Saddy
Mascots can be anything from people to objects that represent the identity of a common group. One could find them cheering a team on at sporting events or pumping up school spirit among a crowd of students. Additionally, mascots may be used for marketing purposes, and are advertised anywhere from t-shirts to cereal boxes.
Going to college soon? Here are some universities you may be looking at that have the most peculiar mascots.
Keggy The Keg from Dartmouth College Dartmouth College is a private, top-notch ivy league university located in Hanover, New Hampshire. The school originally had a Native American mascot until 1971, and the concept of the keg did not come about until 32 years later when two authors of the college’s comedy magazine featured it. Ever since then, Keggy (the keg) has become the main figure for the Dartmouth campus (although unofficial because the faculty and administration would never officially approve of this dancing keg of beer).
Fighting Okra from Delta State University The Fighting Okra is home to Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. Strange as it may seem, this mascot is somewhat representative of the green okra vegetable that hails from the South. The Fighting Okra has become so popular that it has even debuted in a Food Network show and is chanted about at all of Delta’s sporting events.
The Stanford Tree from Stanford University This tree is representative of Stanford University in Stanford, California. This prestigious institution is known for its extreme selectivity of applicants and, apparently, mascots. Up until 1975, candidates such as the French fry and the “steaming manhole” were also considered for the school until the idea of the Stanford tree came about. It has been under a lot of controversy ever since, and has even been banned from an NCAA tournament for “dancing excessively in inappropriate areas.”
Sammy the Banana Slug from University of California- Santa Cruz Sammy the Slug is at home on the Santa Cruz, California campus and is quite the popular mascot as it has been featured in Sports Edition (1992), Reader’s Digest (2004), and ESPN (2008) as one of the best mascots out there. This yellow, slimy figure has made appearances at sporting events since the university’s beginning and has always been a favorite with the college students.
The Purple Cow from Williams College Williams College is a private institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and is home to the purple cow. Established in 1907 through a student election, this cow has been seen alongside the college mascots of Oregon, Texas Tech, and University of Pennsylvania, at sporting events. It was even voted by Reader’s Digest in May of 2011 as “The Most Loveable Mascot.” After all, how could anyone fail to fall in love with an adorable purple cow?
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