[terry]

I think we revisit this story every so often, but it cannot hurt to retell it.  This is my memory of the Great Mascot Debate.  Others should edit/correct my faulty memory.

As many know, the Stanford Student Senate voted to drop Indians in 1972 after objections by Native Americans.  The administration agreed.  The default substitute was Cardinals (plural).  No one seemed happy with this mascot.  For 8 years, a debate played out on campus.  I arrived on campus as a frosh in 1979 just in time for this debate to reach a head.

In 1980, Donald Kennedy was installed as the new president, replacing Richard Lyman who had dropped Indians.  Kennedy seemed interested in resolving the mascot debate.  Or perhaps the students themselves saw an opportunity to reach a more acceptable result with a different president.  In fall, 1981, a campus wide election/referendum was held about the mascot.  The three names on the ballot - Cardinals, Gryphons (for the statues in front of Encina Gym) and Sequoias (for El Palo Alto).  The athletes advocated for Gryphons (because it is Stanford, the common spelling "griffins" would not do).  Sequoias seemed to capture some interest, but it could be problematic in a conference with Huskies, Bruins and 59ers.  Imagine a headline of "Huskies Pee On Sequoias." Popular write in choices were Thunder Chickens, Robber Barons and Steaming Manhole Covers. 

I don't even recall the election results.  But President Kennedy declared that the results were advisory only, not binding (which had never been evident during the lead up to what was an emotional campaign).  In the great tradition of the Cornell Big Red and the Harvard Crimson, Stanford would henceforth be known as the Cardinal (singular).  Once again, no one was happy with this mascot.  What did that mean?  The Band did a Parody Show with tributes to cardinal numbers, cardinal the religious figure and the cardinal sins.

I voted in the current poll to retain Cardinal.  Over the years, Cardinal singular has grown on me.  It leaves creative room for other, complementary identities like Nerd Nation and the Tree (which I am sure everyone knows is the Band's mascot, not the school's).  And as Terry has pointed out, Cardinal has many years of history associated with the University.  I will be cheering this Saturday with all I have for the good guys in Cardinal and White over the heathens in Cardinal and Gold.

Good summary. One addition -- There were two student votes on the mascot issue during the 1975-76 school year. I believe the votes were conducted by the Daily, but it might have been the ASSU. The first vote was on restoring the Indian. That lost by a large margin. The second vote was on a new name. As I recall, the names on the ballot were Robber Barons, Sequoias, Trees, Cardinals (plural), and one or two others. The final vote ranked them in pretty much that order, I believe. The vote was pretty close among the top four choices. If Sequoias and Trees had not split the vote, it seems likely that one or the other of them would have won, and we might have a different mascot today. Of course, Robber Barons had no chance of approval by the university. So we continued to be known unofficially as the Cardinals until Kennedy chose the Cardinal in 1981.

[terry]

I think we revisit this story every so often, but it cannot hurt to retell it.  This is my memory of the Great Mascot Debate.  Others should edit/correct my faulty memory.

As many know, the Stanford Student Senate voted to drop Indians in 1972 after objections by Native Americans.  The administration agreed.  The default substitute was Cardinals (plural).  No one seemed happy with this mascot.  For 8 years, a debate played out on campus.  I arrived on campus as a frosh in 1979 just in time for this debate to reach a head.

In 1980, Donald Kennedy was installed as the new president, replacing Richard Lyman who had dropped Indians.  Kennedy seemed interested in resolving the mascot debate.  Or perhaps the students themselves saw an opportunity to reach a more acceptable result with a different president.  In fall, 1981, a campus wide election/referendum was held about the mascot.  The three names on the ballot - Cardinals, Gryphons (for the statues in front of Encina Gym) and Sequoias (for El Palo Alto).  The athletes advocated for Gryphons (because it is Stanford, the common spelling "griffins" would not do).  Sequoias seemed to capture some interest, but it could be problematic in a conference with Huskies, Bruins and 59ers.  Imagine a headline of "Huskies Pee On Sequoias." Popular write in choices were Thunder Chickens, Robber Barons and Steaming Manhole Covers. 

I don't even recall the election results.  But President Kennedy declared that the results were advisory only, not binding (which had never been evident during the lead up to what was an emotional campaign).  In the great tradition of the Cornell Big Red and the Harvard Crimson, Stanford would henceforth be known as the Cardinal (singular).  Once again, no one was happy with this mascot.  What did that mean?  The Band did a Parody Show with tributes to cardinal numbers, cardinal the religious figure and the cardinal sins.

I voted in the current poll to retain Cardinal.  Over the years, Cardinal singular has grown on me.  It leaves creative room for other, complementary identities like Nerd Nation and the Tree (which I am sure everyone knows is the Band's mascot, not the school's).  And as Terry has pointed out, Cardinal has many years of history associated with the University.  I will be cheering this Saturday with all I have for the good guys in Cardinal and White over the heathens in Cardinal and Gold.

Good summary. One addition -- There were two student votes on the mascot issue during the 1975-76 school year. I believe the votes were conducted by the Daily, but it might have been the ASSU. The first vote was on restoring the Indian. That lost by a large margin. The second vote was on a new name. As I recall, the names on the ballot were Robber Barons, Sequoias, Trees, Cardinals (plural), and one or two others. The final vote ranked them in pretty much that order, I believe. The vote was pretty close among the top four choices. If Sequoias and Trees had not split the vote, it seems likely that one or the other of them would have won, and we might have a different mascot today. Of course, Robber Barons had no chance of approval by the university. So we continued to be known unofficially as the Cardinals until Kennedy chose the Cardinal in 1981.