Tales about Tails

Hamline's most infamous residents: The squirrels.

Interviews and photos by Franki Hanke

As much as Hamline is known as being the oldest private university in Minnesota or recognized by the clock tower of Old Main, the most infamous factor for anyone who’s set foot on campus is the squirrels.

Everyone has stories or theories about the squirrels (and their transformation into bunnies once the sun sets), but for anyone outside of the Hamline community, our obsession with these critters might just be a bit nuts.

The Good

“My roommates and I once saw a squirrel eating an entire slice of pizza. One year when we lived in the apartments we had a friend that visited us on our window [sill], and we named him Alvin.” — Morgan Fox, senior

“I stayed in the dorms my first year and, like most college kids, I missed my family a lot. After seeing all of the squirrels running around campus, I started to send pictures to my mom because she’s obsessed with animals. It turned into a fun way for us to stay connected and for her to feel like she’s with me. Even though I commute now, I still send her pictures of the squirrels all the time.” — Makayla Durand, senior

The Bad

“A squirrel last summer ran into my foot as I was walking through campus and scared itself.” — Sam Ealy, senior

“One of them by Drew stares me down every morning. It could very well be a different one because they all look similar, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same one because she’s always digging in the same spot and then I come out for class and she stares at me until I pass her and then she goes back to digging (not actually sure about gender, my soul kinda believes that they’re female though).” — Brianna LeGarde, junior

“My first year, I had squirrels throw acorns at me and chase me when I was eating in the Blue Garden.” — Kayla Bruflodt, senior

“My first year I lived in Sorin and not a day went by that I didn’t have a squirrel jump out at me when I was trying to take the garbage out. There was even a time that it ran so quickly it ended up locking itself in the back room of Sorin trapped in the top corner of the door. My friends and I called safety and security to come help, and they actually ended up chucking a football at it to get it to scurry out the door because it was growling from being trapped and scared that no one wanted to get close to it. I was honestly terrified of it landing on my head as I was opening the door for it to run out!” — Cassie Willaert, junior

The Legendary

“Have you seen the White Squirrel? Legend has it: it appears before either a storm, a bad grade, or a canceled class. Conversely, the Red Squirrel signals abnormally warm days in winter, a good grade, and an exciting extra-curricular event.” — Tijqua Daiker, senior

“I think they were spotted in the Heights to soccer field region a lot? [I don’t know] if they ever did anything weird except just be albino, and people would always be so excited when they saw the albino squirrel and everyone would excitedly share that they too have seen said squirrel or lament that they have yet to.” — Skyler Kane, junior