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NewsvineEveryone’s seen the Stanford Tree around campus — at sporting events and Full Moon on the Quad or simply up to no good. But how was this wacky tradition established? There’s no denying that the Tree is not the fiercest mascot imaginable, and Cal fans will be the first to tell you that “Bears piss on trees.”
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Yet in spite of its shortcomings, the Tree has a rich and storied history. A child of the ‘70s, the Tree was born in the Vietnam era, when students across the nation were challenging the status quo in many ways.
“There was a lot of unrest and police activity on campus,” said Abby Hilson ‘73. “It made the students step out of the traditional and start finding other ways to look at things.”
At Stanford, students chose to confront cultural insensitivity. Since 1930, University athletic teams had been known as the Stanford Indians. The mascot, Prince Lightfoot, had been played by Timm Williams, a member of the Yurok tribe, since 1951.
Native American students and staff were upset by this portrayal of their traditions. In 1972, they successfully lobbied to change the name.
“The thing I remember most was a rally one night outside of the Bookstore in White Plaza where several of the Native American students spoke passionately about why the Indian had to go,” said Deborah Trotter ‘75. “That made a big impression on me.”
Following the decision to change the mascot, an election was held among students to determine possible replacements.
In order of popularity, students chose The Robber Barons, The Thunder Chickens, The Cardinal, The Huns and The Griffins. In 1981, University administrators finally settled on The Cardinal.
But the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB) had other ideas.
“The Band wouldn’t accept a color as a mascot,” Trotter said. “They thought it was too boring. I mean, how does a color dress up and dance?”
In 1975, the Band put on a field show suggesting other possible mascots appropriate for Stanford — including The Steaming Manhole, The French Fry and The Tree.
The Tree received positive feedback from students, so LSJUMB decided to keep it around.
“The Tree wasn’t a mascot that people thought was serious,” Hilson said. “The Indian was politically incorrect, but the Tree was just hokey.”
“The Band kept the Tree because it’s the Band,” she added.
The Tree is representative of El Palo Alto, a real coast redwood tree in Palo Alto that appears on Stanford’s official seal and the municipal seal of the city.
Since the mid-1980s, the selection of new Trees has taken place during Tree Week — which is, in fact, slightly longer than a week. This year’s Tree Week started Monday and will continue until Wednesday, Feb. 27. Potential Trees have until tomorrow to enter the competition.
Tree Week involves crazy and dangerous stunts performed by potential Trees designed to impress the Tree selection committee, which consists of LSJUMB members, old Trees and the current Tree. Stunts utilizing explosives or firearms are prohibited by the University.