2008 Woodie Awards
On the prowl
Life inside the catsuit
Brian O’Malley Associate Verge Editor/ Laura Griffith Verge Editor
Issue date: 10/15/05 Section: The Verge
At every football game there is a dark figure in a football jersey lurking along the sidelines, jumping up and down with the cheerleaders and getting the crowd into the game. It's Eastern's mascot, Prowler.
Andrew White, cheer team adviser, said a mascot is an ideal way to keep school spirit up.
"The panther represents all of us," he said. "Prowler is a conglomorate of all people associated with Eastern Illinois University."
At the end of every spring semester, students are allowed to try out to be Eastern's mascot. At the tryouts, the students must write a skit involving Prowler and act it out. They are also given a game situation and asked to respond the way a mascot would.
White said Prowler should be at as many of Eastern's athletic events as possible.
"The panther is a busy entity on campus," he said.
That is the main reason White tries to hire more than one person at a time to do the job.
"It's nice to have different people because then the panther can make more appearances," he said. "And they're full-time students; a lot of people don't know that."
In April 2005, three students tried out and all three were chosen because White said they were each creative and animated enough.
Like most college mascots, Prowler's identity remains secret, but White likes it that way.
"We don't like telling people because instead of being Prowler the panther, it becomes the person in that suit," he said.
The only people that know besides the student mascots themselves and the people who hired them are the cheerleaders.
"The cheerleaders are sworn to secrecy," White said.
During the summer, the three students traveled to mascot camp where many other university mascots trained with them.
The person playing Prowler is taught to do routines with the cheer team that could be dangerous if not trained correctly.
"Prowler is able to do routines and gags that only Prowler could do," White said. "An individual student at the university is not able to do the routines, let alone pull off some of the stunts conducted at the games."
Besides showing up at sports events, Prowler has made appearances at Eastern club meetings and on-campus events. Prowler can sometimes be seen off campus when stores or businesses request a visit from Eastern's mascot.
White said because it's a panther, which is not necessarily a cuddly animal, some children are scared when Prowler arrives.
"When you see a panther, they're not normally friendly," he said. "Prowler will give them space at first and then approach them slowly, give them their paw and most of the time they enjoy him."
Andrew White, cheer team adviser, said a mascot is an ideal way to keep school spirit up.
"The panther represents all of us," he said. "Prowler is a conglomorate of all people associated with Eastern Illinois University."
At the end of every spring semester, students are allowed to try out to be Eastern's mascot. At the tryouts, the students must write a skit involving Prowler and act it out. They are also given a game situation and asked to respond the way a mascot would.
White said Prowler should be at as many of Eastern's athletic events as possible.
"The panther is a busy entity on campus," he said.
That is the main reason White tries to hire more than one person at a time to do the job.
"It's nice to have different people because then the panther can make more appearances," he said. "And they're full-time students; a lot of people don't know that."
In April 2005, three students tried out and all three were chosen because White said they were each creative and animated enough.
Like most college mascots, Prowler's identity remains secret, but White likes it that way.
"We don't like telling people because instead of being Prowler the panther, it becomes the person in that suit," he said.
The only people that know besides the student mascots themselves and the people who hired them are the cheerleaders.
"The cheerleaders are sworn to secrecy," White said.
During the summer, the three students traveled to mascot camp where many other university mascots trained with them.
The person playing Prowler is taught to do routines with the cheer team that could be dangerous if not trained correctly.
"Prowler is able to do routines and gags that only Prowler could do," White said. "An individual student at the university is not able to do the routines, let alone pull off some of the stunts conducted at the games."
Besides showing up at sports events, Prowler has made appearances at Eastern club meetings and on-campus events. Prowler can sometimes be seen off campus when stores or businesses request a visit from Eastern's mascot.
White said because it's a panther, which is not necessarily a cuddly animal, some children are scared when Prowler arrives.
"When you see a panther, they're not normally friendly," he said. "Prowler will give them space at first and then approach them slowly, give them their paw and most of the time they enjoy him."
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