Stanford Suspends Tree Mascot For Protest During Game
Yes, you are reading that headline correctly. In a wild turn of events, Stanford University has suspended its tree mascot for a sign that it held at halftime of one of its games. On Oct. 22, Stanford was hosting Arizona State when at halftime, the tree mascot held a banner that stated, “Stanford hates fun”. The tree announced on its Twitter Monday that the university has decided to suspend the mascot for its actions.
A spokesperson of Stanford’s athletic department confirmed the suspension with ESPN by stating that the actions violated the band’s policies and procedures. The tree also announced on its Twitter that it will be inactive on social media for the time being. However, the student who last was the mascot will come out of retirement to finish the season.
The mascot got into hot water because it chose to take a shot at the administration’s recent actions. Earlier this semester, a party got out of hand at Stanford and was blamed on members of the band. In reality, the party was not thrown by any active members of the Stanford band. Unfortunately, the administration went with their original story and blamed the band. They put restrictions on what the band could and could not do in terms of performances as a form of punishment. By holding a banner stating, “Stanford hates fun”, the mascot and band seemed to be directly protesting the administration’s latest rules.
What makes this story even crazier is that this is not the first time the Stanford tree has been suspended. In 2006, two students who served as the tree were suspended for dancing in an unregulated area, and for alcohol use before a game. Stanford in particular seems to have a history of administrative issues regarding its band and mascot.
It is currently unclear when and if the student who served as the mascot will return. Odds are, that student will never be the tree mascot again. While the Stanford administration is not necessarily wrong in its actions to suspend the student, it may not send the best message to the rest of the student body. If they want their students to think the sign is untrue, maybe they should avoid suspending their school’s mascot.
