The Andy Hogue Jump Site >> Column: Vote "Yes" to make the Albino Squirrel the official secondary mascot of UNT -- 4/03

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NT student body, Scrappy himself, to benefit from sidekick mascot.
North Texas Daily, 4/1/2003

Vote “yes” to make your campus albino squirrel NT’s secondary mascot; not an alternative mascot or a new mascot, but a loveable, national media-attracting sidekick, to enhance our institutional image.

At first, I thought this was a fun, neutral idea that would unite the campus in way unprecedented since the Eagle was chosen over the Cottontail and the Dragon generations ago. Alas, there are some arguments against having a secondary mascot. I shall attempt to refute them.

Argument #1: “It’s a stupid idea, and NT is a serious university.” We must remember that we are a predominately liberal arts college. Attracting artistically sharp and creative students is a difficult task.

Denton’s music heritage and eclectic community atmosphere has drawn creative minds successfully. This atmosphere is beginning to fade, the removal of the Fry Street Fair as the latest symptom of Denton becoming more of a typical college town. By having a bohemian mascot, such as the albino squirrel, we help to provide an environment that shouts out to those who think outside the box that NT is a place where creativity is not discouraged, but understood and embraced.

Argument #2: “It will take away attention from Scrappy and hurt school spirit.” Not that NT should be another lemming among state universities, but other colleges have approved additional mascots successfully without harming school unity and campus enthusiasm.

Several colleges have common ground squirrels as unofficial secondary mascots. Arkansas State argued for years about approving an alternative mascot to satisfy the politically correct students who say the current mascot, the Indian, is derogatory to Native Americans. University of Florida, the Gators, have adopted the “Gator Hop,” a new species of grasshopper (Pardalophora phoenicoptera) discovered by a student with orange and blue legs, orange hind wings and a torso that looks vaguely similar to alligator hide.

Supplemental mascots did not hurt these schools at all. A harmless white squirrel will not circumnavigate school spirit any more than white takes away from the glory of the green.

Argument #3: “The albino squirrel should remain a private figure. If we make him the official secondary mascot, it will take away from the simple charm of this local legend.”

As mentioned on the Albino Squirrel Preservation Society Web page, the squirrel eats and frolics like any other squirrel, carrying on despite the obvious difference, and he seems to love attention from humans as well as other squirrels.

NT, not having the blind devotion of A&M or the hard-headed, partisan fervor of UT-Austin, is home to many who feel like they don’t belong in a typical university. NT is home to some wonderfully eccentric people from a diverse spectrum of lifestyles, one of our greatest strengths. By nominating the albino squirrel as secondary mascot, we will establish for future classes of Mean Green Eagles a symbol of diversity – that it’s okay to be different and love it!

Maybe this wasn’t such a light-hearted suggestion, after all. Whatever your reason for voting against the squirrel may be, I urge you to reconsider. Vote “yes” to the albino squirrel April 1-3 and dare to be different.