History of the Other Mascot
The Caltech Turtle Club, founded in 2021, began its campaign to change the school’s mascot from the beaver to the turtle in April 2024. One of their chief arguments, presented on the club’s website, is for uniqueness:
“It’s time for Caltech to distinguish itself with a mascot that sets us apart. MIT may also boast the beaver, but we are Caltech – a beacon of originality and ingenuity. By embracing the turtle, we not only carve out our own identity but also symbolize our commitment to forging our own path in the world of academia and beyond.” (https://turtle.clubs.caltech.edu/turtle-mascot)
A handful of colleges and universities in Los Angeles have animals as mascots, including Traveler at USC, Cinco at Glendale Community College, and (last but not least) Bernoulli the Beaver at Caltech. In addition to Caltech, several engineering schools use the beaver as a mascot, including Oregon State and MIT. The MIT beaver’s name has been Tim (MIT backwards) since the 1990s, but it was first adopted as the institute’s mascot in 1914 (“An interview with Tim the Beaver”, MIT News).
Caltech was founded in 1891 by Amos Gager Throop, who originally named the institution Throop University. Throop Hall, the first building on our current campus, opened in 1910. The institute’s name was changed to California Institute of Technology in 1920 (Caltech Library Archives). In 1922, The Big T (Caltech’s yearbook) documented the adoption of the beaver as the school mascot. It was announced by then-student body president Paul Ames on October 21st 1921, in front of Throop Hall on Bonfire Rally night (back when we used to have a football team).
Throop Hall in 1944. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Throop Hall was demolished in 1973 due to damage from the 1971 San Fernando earthquake (Memories of Throop, Caltech Magazine). The Throop Memorial Garden, more popularly known as the Turtle Pond, was built in 2006 to commemorate the building. There are currently over 100 turtles living in the pond (What’s With the Turtles, The California Tech, April 24, 2023).
Caltech’s beaver was christened “Bernoulli” by popular vote of the community on May 21, 2023.
The Turtle Club’s mascot campaign aims to help differentiate Caltech from MIT and have a mascot reflective of our campus. They have a petition on their site that is currently soliciting signatures; it has 547 at the time of this writing (Caltech Turtle Club website).
Will your signature be number 548?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/107BJfOvRAXIK5Fr0689lv0MZYAlFIyeEFiALoTWIl3s/edit?usp=drivesdk