The freshmen who were present at the "Celebration of the Class of 2005" at the Gancher Sports Center during orientation will long remember the excitement they felt during the fireworks display and candle lighting ceremony that marked their initiation as the next class of Tufts University. Neither will students forget a more light-hearted part of the night - the slide projector video commemorating Jumbo the elephant, Tufts' beloved mascot.
Students and historians alike have long been awed by the history of the famous mascot.
"Having a story behind Jumbo makes it more interesting than something randomly assigned to our school to be the mascot," junior Kathryn Price said. In the summer before her freshman year, Price watched a special on the story behind Jumbo on the History Channel.
"As a pre-frosh, I was really excited to see my school's mascot on TV. My dad called me into the living room and I remember sitting there and feeling proud that my university's mascot had that kind of a story behind it."
The story of the noble pachyderm is worth remembering for any who may have forgotten. In 1884, master showman Phineas T. Barnum donated $50,000 to build Barnum Hall - now home to the biology department - intending it to become the largest and most well known natural history museum on the East Coast. Barnum was an original trustee of Tufts through its association with the Universalist Church, of which Barnum was a member.
In 1882, the London Zoo sold Jumbo, an elephant that had been born wild in the Sudan in 1859, to Barnum for $10,000. The elephant, which had been famous for his impressive size and mild temperament at the Zoo, became the main attraction at the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Jumbo was billed as the largest animal ever to be held in captivity, and his reputation spread throughout America.
While on tour in 1885, Jumbo attempted to save a smaller elephant walking over train tracks from being hit by an oncoming locomotive and met his death. Barnum then commissioned what was widely considered the world's largest taxidermy job ever performed, and he soon toured the world with his stuffed elephant as the show's centerpiece.
Four years later, Jumbo's stuffed remains were donated to Tufts, while his skeleton was given to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Jumbo became the Barnum Museum's main attraction and was surrounded by the other specimens donated by Barnum. In 1939, the history museum at Barnum became a student lounge area, but Jumbo was left standing next to a small albino elephant and a display dedicated to his life. It was during this time that it became customary for students to place a penny in Jumbo's trunk for good luck on their exams.
Not long after, a dispute began over ownership of the stuffed elephant. In 1949, the University of Bridgeport laid claim to Jumbo based on the fact that the University had been home to Barnum & Bailey circus. They argued that Barnum only owned half of Jumbo and thus could only bequeath half of the animal to Tufts.
Tufts President Leonard Carmichael countered that since Barnum Hall had housed Jumbo for so many years, it would be Tufts that would determine which school got which half of Jumbo. When Carmichael stated that Tufts would keep the front half of the elephant, Bridgeport dropped its request. In a gesture of goodwill, Tufts donated the albino elephant that stood beside Jumbo in the Barnum Museum to Bridgeport.
A fire in Barnum Hall in April 1975 reduced Jumbo to ashes, leaving only the charred remains of the elephant's tusks. Thanks to the quick thinking of then-athletic department administrative assistant Phyllis Byrne, a peanut butter jar now holds Jumbo's ashes, which are currently housed in the office of the Athletic Director.
Athletic teams occasionally rub the peanut butter jar before a big game, hoping it will bring them luck and lead Tufts to victory. Campus sports teams are often reminded by their coaches that Jumbo's name comes from the Swahili word jumbe, meaning "chief." Today, a smaller version of Jumbo stands between Barnum Hall and the Dana Biology Lab to commemorate the animal, who became the Tufts mascot because of his long affiliation with the University.
While other NESCAC schools that Tufts competes against have stories behind their mascots, University students agree that Jumbo's legacy is far more interesting.
"Other universities make fun of our mascot, including our rivals Amherst, who are the Lord Jeffs. But at least people know what a Jumbo is," sophomore James Meyers said.
Sophomore Taylor Shaunn agreed that being the Jumbos is also better than being, say, the Williams Purple Cows.
"The story behind Jumbo is a good one, and I always found it cool that that P.T. Barnum was a founder [of Tufts]," Shaunn said.
Some don't think the mascot is fitting, however. "The problem that I have with Jumbo is that an elephant doesn't exactly inspire passionate fighting," sophomore Josh Pressman said. "Jumbo isn't a symbol of aggression or ferocity."
Freshman Danny Gold agreed. "I think Jumbo is a little weak because it doesn't have a ring to it," he said. "The 'Fighting Jumbos' would be better."
But would a more ferocious name for the mascot inspire Tufts' teams to play harder? Sophomore Jen Dorfman disagrees about the importance of Jumbo to sports. "I don't really know the story behind Jumbo, but that has no bearing on my school spirit," she said. "I'm on the rugby team and in our cheers we always say 'Go Tufts.' It's never 'Go Jumbos.'"
Other students are perfectly satisfied with the mascot just the way he is.
"I like our mascot because Jumbo is really unique - there are a lot of schools with bears, but there aren't any other schools that are elephants," freshman Melissa Diracles said.
