A New Mascot for an Old College?

Driving around in Denver, Colorado today with family. I was surprised to find myself on Auraria Parkway and my how the views have changed in recent years!

I attended Metropolitan State College starting in 1983 as a full time student. My grades in high school were good enough for me to have had quite a few choices. Cornell University in New York was one of my considerations, strangely enough. UC Berkeley in Northern California was the other out of state consideration for me. But all in all, I couldn't bear the thought of leaving home. I was born and grew up in and around the Mile High City and for me, there is no place like home.

MSU is different from many colleges and universities. From Wikipedia, "Metropolitan State University of Denver was founded in 1965 as an opportunity school. The concept was that people from all walks of life could have a chance at a college education. By design, MSU Denver is required to be accessible to all, which is why it consistently has some of the lowest tuitions of four-year Colorado colleges and universities." From the MSU official website, "Metropolitan State University of Denver has transformed the lives of more than 90,000 people in Denver and Colorado through affordable degree programs, innovative public-private partnerships and a commitment to diversity."

The campus is spread out over lower Downtown Denver. There are no dormitories. Many people who attend college there start out after having graduated from high school, living with parents and commuting, or sharing an apartment with friends close by. There are also a lot of working students of all ages, who take night classes. And yet it is one of the largest colleges in the State of Colorado, with over 27,000 students enrolled. In my experience of it, it was known as a 'working person's college.' When I began attending in 1983, the name of it was Metropolitan State College. Since then it has gone through two name changes; 'Metropolitan State College of Denver' in 1990, and then it became 'Metropolitan State University of Denver' in 2012.

Anyway. Driving around today, looking at the sites. I live a bit of a distance from true Denver and I always find it a treat to get to visit. I moved away from Colorado twice in my adult life and both times I made it back. It still amazes me, the old feelings that get stirred up, seeing familiar places from childhood or early life. Especially when comparing my memories to how things are today. Its even more fun when my kids are with me and I get to share those memories with them. My two sons weren't born in this state and we spent the majority of their childhood in small towns, intentionally distant from large population centers and close to nature. The big city is something totally new to my three children, and as ex-homeschoolers there is always a refreshing sense of exposing them to something interesting and new, coming from a more isolated and safe (but boring, my oldest son would probably say) perspective.

There is a lot of history connected to this school. From Wiki: "The institution is located in one of the oldest areas of Denver. The campus is located at the former townsite of Auraria, which was founded in November 1858. Denver was founded three weeks later on the opposing side (east side) of Cherry Creek. Denver would soon overtake Auraria after thriving for a mere two years. For a century following, an Auraria neighborhood would remain. The boundaries of the former neighborhood were Colfax Avenue on the south, the South Platte River on the northwest and Cherry Creek on the northeast. The Auraria Campus, Pepsi Center, and Elitch Gardens now inhabit this area."

A few Halloweens ago I saw an article on old Denver history and I learned that a huge amount of the original city space was an Arapaho Indian burial ground! Link, Haunted Cheeseman Park in Denver, Built on the Graves of Arapaho Indians and Pioneer Families: http://wildwesthistory.blogspot.com/2012/05/haunted-cheesman-park-in-denver-built.html

Auraria had a mix of residential areas and industrial areas through the early to mid-20th century. When the campus was built, many Aurarians, a majority of them Hispanic, were displaced and the school promised to serve the community. The historic Tivoli Brewery was a popular beer brewery on this site that was preserved and the building now serves as the Tivoli Student Union to all three schools on the campus; among other things it is noted for being the site of a stage of the now-defunct Coors Classic world-class bicycle race. Many original buildings remain on campus including a preserved street of Victorian cottages in the 9th Street Historic District. Two churches are still on the campus, St. Elizabeth's of Hungary and St. Cajetan's. The Emmanuel Gallery, which is the oldest synagogue structure in Denver, is on the campus as well and serves as a museum."

I think the thing I love about it most is the connection to old Denver and many historic sites. The campus is mixed in with modern improvements and architecture (and so much diversity in the student body)! As we were passing through today, besides being awed at how much the school has grown since I moved away to Montana many years ago, I saw a few images of the school logo.

Its a roadrunner. AKA Rowdy. Rowdy the Roadrunner.

Say what?!

I mean, I knew this. I attended college there as a full time student and later with night classes on a part time basis, and I later worked full time in Downtown Denver for the FDIC. But even then, I remember thinking it was weird.

Okay. So how the heck did they wind up choosing a ROADRUNNER for a mascot for a college in Denver, Colorado?! I mean, aren't roadrunners like, desert dwellers or something like that? I bet there isn't a single roadrunner in the entire state, besides the possibility of a zoo.

See? According to Google: "The greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, from Southwestern United States and Mexico. The Latin name means "Californian earth-cuckoo". Along with the lesser roadrunner, it is one of two species in the roadrunner genus Geococcyx."

Looking for answers! Researching this just now, I found this:
"When MSU Denver was founded, the mustang was chosen as its mascot. However, since the students had to run between numerous buildings scattered across downtown Denver to get to their classes, they took a vote and decided the roadrunner would be a more appropriate and meaningful mascot."

Okay, that's more like it. (I DO remember those days, running the distance between classes and across major Denver Downtown streets, dodging rush hour traffic with little time in between). Speaking of logos and mascots. I mean, I sort of understand. In the car today, we were talking about the Denver Broncos and the classic, beautiful, rearing up white horse statue that graced the old Mile Hi Stadium. That really got me going. (Do you know what they did to him? After they tore down Mile Hi Stadium and built that weird new one that looks more like an amusement park ride than a building, he was moved out someplace close to the new DIA airport. They painted him blue with scary, glowing eyes and he now goes by the name, "Blucifer." Dammit, WTF? Or so I have read but never actually seen for myself. I think this is awful).

If only they had asked me. There's a beautiful spot in Denver's City Park behind the museum that looks like it was made for it, a circular flower bed bordered by concrete for walking and roller skating on. THAT'S where I would have put him. Still not happy about this.

Back to the MSU roadrunner. So they started out as mustangs (wild Native American horses), that would have been better, I think. Also it would have been in good company, with the Denver Broncos mascot. Only the update of THAT logo that happened while I was away is, well. Downright ugly. The classic white stallion was so much better.

CLOUD: Wild Stallion of the Rockies
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/cloud-wild-stallion-of-the-rockies-video-full-episode/260/

SIGH.

So we were talking about what might be a better mascot for Metropolitan State University than a roadrunner, for gosh sakes. I mean, CU in Boulder has the Buffalo. CSU in Fort Collins has the Rams. My son suggested the MSU Bears. Nah, says I. Yes, its true that there are a lot of wild bears in our mountain neighborhood, bears are so generic. I mean, for a school mascot or sports team. There are a lot of schools and teams named just "Bears."

I guess I asked for it, in a sense. He then came up with something REALLY interesting. Have you ever heard of a Tardigrade? Also known as 'Water Bears.' These amazing microscopic creatures are fascinating! According to the link, "Tardigrades, often called water bears or moss piglets, are near-microscopic animals with long, plump bodies and scrunched-up heads. They have eight legs, and hands with four to eight claws on each. While strangely cute, these tiny animals are almost indestructible and can even survive in outer space."

I was kindof looking for something more connected to the environment here. I mean, traversing the Denver area and most of the Front Range, you can't escape a majestic view of the Rocky Mountains. I was thinking of something local. You know. Connected to local wildlife species. There are so many to choose from. BUT, have no fear: (from that same link) "Water bears can live just about anywhere. They prefer to live in sediment at the bottom of a lake, on moist pieces of moss or other wet environments. They can survive a wide range of temperatures and situations." Jackpot!!

They are are so ugly they are kindof cute. "These creatures look like the hookah-smoking caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. They can range from 0.05 millimeters to 1.2 mm (0.002 to 0.05 inches) long, but they usually don't get any bigger than 1 mm (0.04 inches) long... Research has found that tardigrades can withstand environments as cold as minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 200 Celsius) or highs of more than 300 degrees F (148.9 C), according to Smithsonian magazine. They can also survive radiation, boiling liquids, massive amounts of pressure of up to six times the pressure of the deepest part of the ocean and even the vacuum of space without any protection. A 2008 study published in the journal Current Biology found that some species of tardigrade could survive 10 days at low Earth orbit while being exposed to a space vacuum and radiation."

WOW. I bet there are NO TARDIGRADE mascots. Anywhere. It would be a first, I'd bet. If I ever go back and finish my degree, I may just officially petition for a change in the school mascot.

All in all it was a pretty fun day.

Photos from the backside of the Denver Natural History Museum from my personal photo cache, the Denver History post and the Denver Broncos white horse statue photograph came from Google images.

links

https://msudenver.edu/our-past/ourhistory/

https://msudenver.edu/about/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_State_University_of_Denver

All about Tardigrades:
https://www.livescience.com/57985-tardigrade-facts.html