Testudo (mascot) explained

Testudo, a diamondback terrapin, is the mascot of the University of Maryland, College Park and represents the university both at sporting events and as a more general symbol. Testudo has served as the school's mascot since the 1930s, and several statues of the terrapin exist on the school's campus.

History

Statues

In 1932, Curley Byrd—who served as the university's football and baseball coach, athletic director, and president—proposed adopting the diamondback terrapin as a mascot. The first statue of Testudo cast in bronze was donated by the Class of 1933 and displayed on Baltimore Avenue in front of Ritchie Coliseum. However, the 300-pound sculpture was subjected to vandalism by visiting college athletic teams.[1] One such incident occurred in 1947 when students from Johns Hopkins University stole the bronze statue and moved it to their campus. Maryland students traveled to Baltimore to retrieve it, laying siege to the house where it was hidden. Over 200 city police responded to quell the riot.[2] In 1949, University President Byrd was awakened by a phone call from a University of Virginia fraternity requesting Testudo be removed from their lawn. Testudo was later filled with 700 pounds of cement and fastened to his pedestal to prevent future removals, but students at rival schools continued to vandalize it. It was moved to Maryland Stadium in 1951. In the 1960s, Testudo was moved back to a central spot in front of McKeldin Library.[3] [4] [5] [6]

In 1992 a duplicate statue was placed at Maryland Stadium, where the football team touches it for good luck as they pass by before games. Additional Testudo statues now sit outside of the Gossett Team House near the stadium; XFINITY Center, the school's basketball arena; the Riggs Alumni Center; in the lobby of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union; and on the courtyard of Van Munching Hall.[5] [7] In 1994, the Maryland General Assembly approved legislation to name the diamondback terrapin (malaclemys terrapin terrapin) as the official state reptile and the legally codified mascot of the University of Maryland.[8] Beginning in the 2000s, the university promoted the slogan "Fear the Turtle" as a rallying cry for school pride.[9]

The nose of the statue outside McKeldin Library is polished by passers-by that have rubbed it for good luck.[10] Around finals week, students start giving offerings to Testudo in the hope of good grades.[11] Offerings began as small items such as alcohol, books, clothing, coins, food, and even letters to Testudo himself. However, in recent years, offerings have become much larger, with students offering furniture items and even stolen campus property such as traffic cones, road signs, trash cans, electric scooters, and streetlamps ripped from the ground.[12] In 2013, the Testudo statue caught fire because of an ill-advised mixture of flammable offerings and a lit candle. Local news channels reported about this event and it trended on Twitter.[13] During the COVID-19 pandemic, campus guidelines included instructions to not rub the statue's nose unless using disinfectant wipes before and after to clean it.[14] [15]

Costumed mascot

A costumed version of Testudo represents the school at some sporting events both at home and away, including football and men's basketball.[16] [17] Students are put through a try-out process to "become" the mascot, the costume for which features an "M"-stamped turtle shell.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Testudo: Tale of the Top Shell . Umterps.com . May 23, 1933 . April 23, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110516033155/http://www.umterps.com/trads/md-m-fb-mas.html . May 16, 2011.
  2. News: Lee. Edward. Catalino, Reed lead No. 5 Terps past No. 20 Mids. Baltimore Sun. College Park, Md.. June 18, 2010. April 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20110511080212/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-04-11/sports/bal-sp.terpslax11apr11_1_grant-catalino-midshipmen-terps-sophomore-attackman. May 11, 2011. live.
  3. Web site: Traditions at The University of Maryland . Umd.edu . May 23, 1933 . June 26, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100619143806/http://www.umd.edu/traditions/testudo/ . June 19, 2010 . dead.
  4. Web site: Traditions at The University of Maryland . Umd.edu . September 24, 2003 . June 26, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100623044552/http://www.umd.edu/traditions/landmarks/ . June 23, 2010 . dead.
  5. Web site: Mac To Millennium: Testudo . Lib.umd.edu . June 26, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100609170833/http://www.lib.umd.edu/univarchives/macmil/testudo.html . June 9, 2010 . live .
  6. News: Rasmussen. Frederick. A stroke of good luck in Terps sculpture. Baltimore Sun. June 18, 2010. March 23, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20100610024241/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2002-03-23/features/0203230044_1_mckeldin-library-nose-university-of-maryland. June 10, 2010. live.
  7. News: A New Testudo. Dankelson. Annie. October 1, 2018. University of Maryland Terp Magazine. October 10, 2018. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20181010060700/http://terp.umd.edu/a-new-testudo/#.W71H3lMvwb0. October 10, 2018. live.
  8. Web site: Maryland State Archives. Diamondback Terrapin, Maryland State Reptile. June 18, 2010. March 8, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20170701013023/http://mdgovpap.net/msa/mdmanual/01glance/symbols/html/reptile.html. July 1, 2017. dead.
  9. Web site: Fear the Turtle! University of Maryland. University of Maryland . February 8, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070809225009/http://www.feartheturtle.umd.edu/about/ . August 9, 2007.
  10. News: Kelly. John. 2012-08-29. Yes, the University of Maryland has traditions. en-US. The Washington Post. 2020-08-31. 0190-8286.
  11. Web site: Domen . John . 2023-05-17 . Is a decades-old U.Md. tradition getting out of hand? . 2023-05-17 . WTOP News . en.
  12. Web site: Alonso . Johana . 2023-05-17. U of Maryland Students Warned to Curb Offerings to Mascot . 2023-09-13 . Inside Higher Ed . en.
  13. Web site: Maryland Testudo statue fire ruled accidental. WJLA. December 18, 2013. May 29, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150719032454/http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/12/maryland-testudo-statue-fire-likely-not-intentional-authorities-say-98270.html. July 19, 2015. live.
  14. News: U. of Maryland COVID-19 guidelines? Don't rub Testudo's nose without disinfecting it first. WJLA. March 8, 2020. August 27, 2020.
  15. Web site: Tchangalova. Nedelina. 2020-08-27. Research Guides: COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Resources: Global resources. 2020-08-31. University of Maryland Libraries. en.
  16. Web site: Boulton . Ginny . Terrapin mascot Testudo gets drilled during Maryland's visit to the Big House . Saturday Tradition . August 15, 2023 . September 24, 2022.
  17. Web site: Katz . Rose . It’s hard to become Testudo. I know. I tried out. . The Diamondback . August 15, 2023 . September 29, 2016.

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