Oberlin College Adopts Albino Squirrel As Its Mascot

Oberlin College is a small liberal arts school in Ohio known primarily for its progressive social values and for being the first college in the United States to admit black and female students. For several decades, the campus has also gained notoriety for its population of albino squirrels. In fact, the Huffington Post recently labeled Oberlin as number one among the colleges most obsessed with squirrels. Now the college has decided to give its white squirrels official status as the mascot of the college's athletic teams.

The sports teams have for years been known as the Yeomen and Yeowomen, and will keep these oddly awkward names going forward. But the athletic department logo will now feature the inspiring image of the fighting albino squirrel pictured above. A school spokesman has said that the new mascot is an attempt to better connect the school's athletic teams with the general college community. Apparently, the squirrels have been widely accepted as a sort of unofficial mascot for years, so the school just decided to make that role official.

I would like to applaud Oberlin College for its excellent decision. I have long wondered why so few sports teams have adopted a squirrel as their mascot. There are certainly few better athletes to be found in the animal world. To celebrate this move, I offer the short video below of one of Oberlin College's famous albino squirrels: