UCM Update

While the Mules and Jennies mascots continue to play a prominent role in the University of Central Missouri’s campus culture, staff members in University Relations took advantage of April 1 to play a practical joke aimed at engaging its social media audience. The April Fools Day announcement fictitiously named the Squirrel as the university’s new mascot – at least for one day.

“Of course the university has no intention of changing the name of its current mascot,” said Courtney Tripp, manager of new media and communication. “This time of year, the squirrel gets a lot of attention because the population is so thick around campus. You see them everywhere. So, we used April 1 as an opportunity to poke fun at what has become an ‘unofficial mascot.’ It’s simply a way to engage our growing social media audience.”

“From the byline by ‘April Furste’ to references to ‘April Fools Day,’ and other winks to the reader, we wanted to make it clear this was just for fun,” Tripp said. “Mules and Jennies mascots are beloved and here to stay.”

UCM’s proud tradition of Mules and Jennies mascots celebrate the animal’s role in Missouri, once used to farm the state’s land, harvest timber, work mines, build roads, take people to church and to serve in times of war.