History of the Owls (Part 6)

A March 16, 1983 article indicates that “Owls”
won a second survey of students.

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An April 6, 1983 editorial from The Atlantic
Sun mocked Chris Carson, who had initially
proposed the change to “Seahawks,” for using
the burrowing owl prominently in his campaign
materials (along with his own fake newspaper)
when he ran for student body president.
He lost, in an election with the highest turnout
ever seen until that point.

**********

In the same issue as the editorial, this article
declared the “Seahawks” defeat. 73 percent
of the students who voted supported the Owls.

History of the Owls (Part 5)

Through much of the The Atlantic Sun’s history,
the paper enjoyed a thriving opinion and editorial section.

The Sun received multiple letters to the editor
regarding SG’s sudden move to change the mascot;
two of them ran in the February 23, 1983 issue.

**********

Because of the outcry, SG decided to get
student opinions after all. In the same
issue, this article reported SG’s survey
results, where only 3 percent of students
liked “Seahawks,” and only 42 percent
wanted to change the mascot.

It’s somewhat amusing to note that Chris
Carson, who authored the “Seahawks”
legislation, also gets his facts wrong:
the mascot survey was conducted in ’70, not ’74.

History of the Owls (Part 4)

A February 9, 1983 article reported that
Student Government realized it had somehow,
accidentally, cut the official mascot from its
bylaws. (It is not listed in modern SG policy,
either.) They took this as an opportunity to
consider changing the mascot.

**********

However, rather than spending time seeking the
student body’s opinion, an SG representative
named Chris Carson immediately put forward a
proposal to change the mascot to the “Seahawks,”
according to this February 16, 1983 article.

SG voted on, and passed, the name change,
only a week after the idea of picking
a new mascot was made public.

History of the Owls (Part 3)

This article ran on October 13, 1970 and
marks the first time students voted on a
mascot name. Longstanding club FAU
Circle K (They called themselves “FAUCK”)
conducted the poll.

**********

Less than a year after choosing
“Burrowing Owls” as the FAU mascot,
the university became an official
sanctuary to the birds, thanks in part
to then-vice president of administrative
affairs Roger Miller.

Miller was known (and sometimes
teased) for his love of the owls
and was very protective of them.
In his day, there were over 100 owls;
now there are fewer than 30,
according to FAU estimates.

The College History Series book
on FAU says Miller “watche[d] over the
owls like a mother hen,” and he was
known to check on them daily.

For more information about the burrowing owls
remaining on campus, including where to see one, check out
the FAU Animals blog.

 

History of the Owls (Part 2)

At left is a feature called “On the Record,”
similar to the “You Don’t Say” of the modern
University Press. Both feature quotes and
photos from a random sampling of students
around campus on a given question or topic.

This ran on February 14, 1967. At the time,
FAU was not a 4-year school: it only had
upperclassmen. Many students felt the
university couldn’t support a football
program, but they did want some form of
intercollegiate competition.

Of note, Robert Griswell was a student body
president and Karen Dinnen was the first winner of the Miss FAU contest. (More on
that at a future date.)

**********

At right is another “On the Record” which
ran on June 6, 1967. The question solicited
suggestions for an FAU mascot for the
intramural sports teams.

The answer of “mustang” probably referred
to the horse, although the Ford vehicle had
been around for three years.

History of the Owls (Part 1)

The sports column at left ran on June 2, 1966.

At the time the softball team didn’t have an
official name, but was often called “The Blue Wave.”

The writer, Armand Grossman, was the original
sports editor of The Atlantic Sun. He is now a
member of FAU’s board of trustees, which runs
the university.

**********

At right, another Grossman column dated
September 6, 1966 explains the relationship
between the Dolphins and the university. FAU
students got discounted tickets; the Dolphins got
FAU cheerleaders. (See what they looked like.)

**********

The news article below ran in the same
issue as the column at right, and reported
much of the same information.

 

Welcome to the Atlantic Sun Archives

FAU’s original motto was “Where Tomorrow Begins.” This blog takes a look at where yesterday ended, examining some of the most interesting aspects of what The Atlantic Sun chronicled about FAU’s evolving student body.

The Atlantic Sun was our original student newspaper. It debuted on May 12, 1966 and ran over the following three decades.

Virtually all images in this blog will be photocopies or scans of articles that ran in The Sun and have been shared through the University Archives branch of Digital Collections in the FAU Libraries. Clicking on these images will generally allow you to read the full, reprinted article at a legible size.

In some cases, unfortunately, a perfect reproduction is impossible because of the way the original article was preserved and bound; parts of the text may be cut off. In these cases, you’ll only be able to see the rest by visiting the University Archives yourself, on the 5th floor of the Boca Raton campus library.

If there is a particular subject or moment in FAU history you’re curious about, feel free to ask about it by e-mailing us or leaving a comment. We can’t guarantee an answer – there’s a lot to dig through and only so much time for research, plus the possibility that the original staff neglected to cover the subject in question. But we definitely want to hear from you.