Stanford Tree
Encyclopedia
The Stanford Tree is the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band's mascot and the unofficial mascot
of Stanford University
. Stanford's team name is "The Cardinal
," referring to the vivid red
color (not the common song bird
as at several other schools), and the University has never been able to come up with an official mascot. The Tree has been called one of America's most bizarre and controversial college mascots. The tree regularly appears at the top of internet "worst mascot" lists.
and appears at football
games, basketball
games, and other events where the Band performs. The "Tree" is representative of El Palo Alto
, the tree that appears on both the official seal of the University and the municipal seal of Palo Alto, Stanford's nearby city.
From 1930 until 1972, Stanford's sports teams had been known as "the Indians," and, during the period from 1951 to 1972, Prince Lightfoot (portrayed by Timm Williams, a member of the Yurok tribe
) was the official mascot. But in 1972, Native American
students and staff members successfully lobbied University President Richard Lyman
to abolish the "Indian
" name along with what they had come to perceive as an offensive and demeaning mascot. Stanford's teams reverted unofficially to the name "Cardinal," the color that had represented the school before 1930.
From 1972 until 1981, Stanford’s official nickname was the Cardinal
, but, during this time, there was debate among students and administrators concerning what the mascot and team name should be. A 1972 student referendum on the issue was in favor of restoring the Indian, while a second 1975 referendum was against. The 1975 vote included new suggestions, many alluding to the industry of the school's founder, railroad tycoon Leland Stanford
— the Robber Barons
, the Sequoias, the Trees, the Cardinals, the Railroaders, the Spikes, and the Huns. The Robber Barons won, but the university's administration refused to implement the vote. In 1978, 225 varsity athletes started a petition for the mascot to be the griffin
, but this campaign also failed. Finally, in 1981, President Donald Kennedy
declared that all Stanford athletic teams would be represented exclusively by the color cardinal.
However, in 1975, the Band had performed a series of halftime shows that facetiously suggested several other new mascot candidates it considered particularly appropriate for Stanford, including the Steaming Manhole
, the French Fry, and the Tree. The Tree ended up receiving so much positive attention that the Band decided to make it a permanent fixture, and thus began the process through which the Tree has gradually colonized the collective unconscious
of Stanford's student body.
During the first decade of its existence, the role of the Tree was generally performed by the Band managers' girlfriends. In the mid-1980s, however, the Band adopted a more formal selection process for its Trees. Today's Tree candidate must go through "grueling and humiliating physical and mental challenges" to show that he or she has sufficient chutzpah
to be the Tree. During "Tree Week," candidates have been known to perform outrageous, unwise, and often dangerous stunts in order to impress the Tree selection committee; so much so that the University has felt the need to prohibit certain types of audition activities over the years, such as those involving explosives, firearms, and, reputedly, haggis
.
The Tree's costume, which is created anew each year by the incumbent Tree, is a prominent target for pranksters from rival schools, in particular from Stanford's Bay Area
arch-nemesis, the University of California, Berkeley
(Cal
). This tendency for the Tree to come to harm at the hands of Cal fans was showcased in the run-up to the 1998 Big Game
. An anonymous coterie of fraternity
brothers from Cal known as the Phoenix Five
stole the costume and held it "hostage" for two weeks until it was turned in to the UC Berkeley chancellor's office and returned to Stanford by the UC Police
. In 1996 two Cal students emerged shirtless from the stands at Memorial Stadium at the Big Game during halftime and tackled the tree, breaking branches and eliciting cheers from the Cal alumni prior to being handcuffed and led away.
Violence and absurd levels of prankery have been a two-way street between Cal and Stanford, though. A few years earlier, during an ESPN
-televised timeout during a February 1995 basketball game at Maples Pavilion
, the Stanford Tree and Cal's mascot Oski
got into a fistfight in front of the Stanford student section. The Oski costume's headpiece was forcefully removed by the Tree during the scuffle, an act of special significance because Cal has taken great pains to keep its Oski costume wearers' identities secret since the 1940s.
A spate of recent troubles has brought the Tree even more notoriety in college sports circles. In February 2006, then-Tree Erin Lashnits was suspended until the end of her term as the Tree after her blood-alcohol level was found to be 0.157 (almost twice the legal driving limit in California
) during a men's basketball game between Stanford and Cal. UC Berkeley police observed her drinking from a flask during the game and cited her for public drunkenness after she failed a breathalyzer
test.
Then, on March 20, 2006, replacement-Tree Tommy Leep was ejected during the Stanford women's basketball team's NCAA tournament game against Florida State University
for "dancing in an undesignated area," following an earlier scuffle with tournament security, from whom he had attempted to escape by hurling himself across the basketball court on a rolling chair. The Stanford Athletic Department then banned him from performing for the rest of the NCAA tournament. In protest, members of the Stanford Band wore foliage pinned to their hats and uniforms when they later played at the Sweet Sixteen
and Elite Eight
.
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. Stanford's team name is "The Cardinal
Stanford Cardinal
The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University.-Nickname and mascot history:Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams...
," referring to the vivid red
Cardinal (color)
Cardinal is a vivid red, which gets its name from the cassocks worn by Catholic cardinals...
color (not the common song bird
Northern Cardinal
The Northern Cardinal or Redbird or Common Cardinal is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico...
as at several other schools), and the University has never been able to come up with an official mascot. The Tree has been called one of America's most bizarre and controversial college mascots. The tree regularly appears at the top of internet "worst mascot" lists.
The Tale of the Tree
The Tree is a member of the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB)Stanford Band
The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band is the student marching band of Stanford University. Billing itself as "The World's Largest Rock and Roll Band", the Stanford Band performs at sporting events, student activities, and other functions...
and appears at football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
games, and other events where the Band performs. The "Tree" is representative of El Palo Alto
El Palo Alto
El Palo Alto is a coast redwood tree located in El Palo Alto Park on the banks of San Francisquito Creek in Palo Alto, California, United States...
, the tree that appears on both the official seal of the University and the municipal seal of Palo Alto, Stanford's nearby city.
From 1930 until 1972, Stanford's sports teams had been known as "the Indians," and, during the period from 1951 to 1972, Prince Lightfoot (portrayed by Timm Williams, a member of the Yurok tribe
Yurok tribe
The Yurok, whose name means "downriver people" in the neighboring Karuk language, are Native Americans who live in northwestern California near the Klamath River and Pacific coast...
) was the official mascot. But in 1972, Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
students and staff members successfully lobbied University President Richard Lyman
Richard Wall Lyman
Richard Wall Lyman is an American educator, historian, and professor at the Stanford University School of Education.He served as the provost of Stanford University between 1967 and 1970. He then served as president of Stanford University from 1970 to 1980...
to abolish the "Indian
Native American name controversy
The Native American name controversy is a dispute about the acceptable terminology for the indigenous peoples of the Americas and broad subsets of these peoples, such as those sharing certain cultures and languages by which more discrete groups identify themselves .Many English exonyms have been...
" name along with what they had come to perceive as an offensive and demeaning mascot. Stanford's teams reverted unofficially to the name "Cardinal," the color that had represented the school before 1930.
From 1972 until 1981, Stanford’s official nickname was the Cardinal
Cardinal (color)
Cardinal is a vivid red, which gets its name from the cassocks worn by Catholic cardinals...
, but, during this time, there was debate among students and administrators concerning what the mascot and team name should be. A 1972 student referendum on the issue was in favor of restoring the Indian, while a second 1975 referendum was against. The 1975 vote included new suggestions, many alluding to the industry of the school's founder, railroad tycoon Leland Stanford
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
— the Robber Barons
Robber baron (industrialist)
Robber baron is a pejorative term used for a powerful 19th century American businessman. By the 1890s the term was used to attack any businessman who used questionable practices to become wealthy...
, the Sequoias, the Trees, the Cardinals, the Railroaders, the Spikes, and the Huns. The Robber Barons won, but the university's administration refused to implement the vote. In 1978, 225 varsity athletes started a petition for the mascot to be the griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
, but this campaign also failed. Finally, in 1981, President Donald Kennedy
Donald Kennedy
Donald Kennedy is an American scientist, public administrator and academic.Donald Kennedy was born in New York and educated at Harvard University...
declared that all Stanford athletic teams would be represented exclusively by the color cardinal.
However, in 1975, the Band had performed a series of halftime shows that facetiously suggested several other new mascot candidates it considered particularly appropriate for Stanford, including the Steaming Manhole
Manhole
A manhole is an opening used to gain access to sewers or other underground structures, usually for maintenance.Manhole may also refer to:* Manhole , a metal band from Los Angeles* The Manhole, a computer game...
, the French Fry, and the Tree. The Tree ended up receiving so much positive attention that the Band decided to make it a permanent fixture, and thus began the process through which the Tree has gradually colonized the collective unconscious
Collective unconscious
Collective unconscious is a term of analytical psychology, coined by Carl Jung. It is proposed to be a part of the unconscious mind, expressed in humanity and all life forms with nervous systems, and describes how the structure of the psyche autonomously organizes experience...
of Stanford's student body.
During the first decade of its existence, the role of the Tree was generally performed by the Band managers' girlfriends. In the mid-1980s, however, the Band adopted a more formal selection process for its Trees. Today's Tree candidate must go through "grueling and humiliating physical and mental challenges" to show that he or she has sufficient chutzpah
Chutzpah
Chutzpah is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad, but it is generally used negatively. The Yiddish word derives from the Hebrew word , meaning "insolence", "audacity". The modern English usage of the word has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in...
to be the Tree. During "Tree Week," candidates have been known to perform outrageous, unwise, and often dangerous stunts in order to impress the Tree selection committee; so much so that the University has felt the need to prohibit certain types of audition activities over the years, such as those involving explosives, firearms, and, reputedly, haggis
Haggis
Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' , minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.Haggis is a kind...
.
The Tree's costume, which is created anew each year by the incumbent Tree, is a prominent target for pranksters from rival schools, in particular from Stanford's Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
arch-nemesis, the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(Cal
California Golden Bears
The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 29 varsity athletic programs and various club teams of the University of California, Berkeley...
). This tendency for the Tree to come to harm at the hands of Cal fans was showcased in the run-up to the 1998 Big Game
Big Game (football)
The Big Game is an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. It is typically played in late November or early December...
. An anonymous coterie of fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
brothers from Cal known as the Phoenix Five
Phoenix Five (prank)
The Phoenix Five were a group of five University of California, Berkeley students in Theta Chi who stole/liberated the Stanford Tree from the Band Shak on the campus of Stanford University in the early morning hours of October 17, 1998...
stole the costume and held it "hostage" for two weeks until it was turned in to the UC Berkeley chancellor's office and returned to Stanford by the UC Police
University of California Police Department
The University of California Police Department is the police agency charged with providing law enforcement to the campuses of the University of California system.-History:...
. In 1996 two Cal students emerged shirtless from the stands at Memorial Stadium at the Big Game during halftime and tackled the tree, breaking branches and eliciting cheers from the Cal alumni prior to being handcuffed and led away.
Violence and absurd levels of prankery have been a two-way street between Cal and Stanford, though. A few years earlier, during an ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
-televised timeout during a February 1995 basketball game at Maples Pavilion
Maples Pavilion
Maples Pavilion is a 7,392-seat multi-purpose arena in Stanford, California built in 1968. Maples underwent a $30 million renovation in March 2004, which wrapped up in time for conference play in December of that year...
, the Stanford Tree and Cal's mascot Oski
Oski
Oski or Oski the Bear is the official mascot of the University of California and has been a tradition at the school since making his debut on September 26, 1941 during the football season-opener against St. Mary's. Up until 1941, live bears were used as mascots...
got into a fistfight in front of the Stanford student section. The Oski costume's headpiece was forcefully removed by the Tree during the scuffle, an act of special significance because Cal has taken great pains to keep its Oski costume wearers' identities secret since the 1940s.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) during a men's basketball game between Stanford and Cal. UC Berkeley police observed her drinking from a flask during the game and cited her for public drunkenness after she failed a breathalyzer
Breathalyzer
A breathalyzer or breathalyser is a device for estimating blood alcohol content from a breath sample...
test.
Then, on March 20, 2006, replacement-Tree Tommy Leep was ejected during the Stanford women's basketball team's NCAA tournament game against Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
for "dancing in an undesignated area," following an earlier scuffle with tournament security, from whom he had attempted to escape by hurling himself across the basketball court on a rolling chair. The Stanford Athletic Department then banned him from performing for the rest of the NCAA tournament. In protest, members of the Stanford Band wore foliage pinned to their hats and uniforms when they later played at the Sweet Sixteen
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual college basketball tournament for women. Held each April, the Women's Championship was inaugurated in the 1981–82 season...
and Elite Eight
Elite Eight
The term Elite Eight, or less commonly called "Great Eight", refers to the final eight teams in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship; and, thus, represents the national quarterfinals. In Division I, the Elite Eight consists of the...
.