Temple University - Templar Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Oamj and Cherry and white have been the colors displaying our school spirit for over 80 years. At any sports game you can see the colors proud- ly displayed by cheerleaders, ath- letes and even fans! Colors are an- other way for Temple ' s unity to be displayed. Temple ' s colors were originally blue, cherry, red, and gold. How- ever, in 1903 cherry and white were adopted. The colors are very unique in that not many schools share them. The only other college with the same colors is Rensselaer Polytech- nic Institute in Troy, NY. Cherry and white are truly unique, in the true Temple spirit! Uhe Owl The Temple University Owl has been an inspiration to ath- letic teams and students alike for more than 80 years. The owl, a nocturnal and wise creature, was chosen in 1896 because at that time Temple College only held evening classes. Russell Con- well, Temple ' s founder, coined this thought with his famous quote, The owl of the night, makes the eagle of the day. After Conwell had recited this to a class, Joshua Long, a Temple artist, made a banner carrying this inscription. On that day, the owl was officially adopted as the school mascot. Since then, many owls have passed Temple ' s doors. Dr.Dager, the Dean of the School of Theology in Russell Conwell ' s time, shot and stuffed the very fi rst owl displayed in College Hall. Conwell then add- ed three of his own and the Famous Four was bom. Many people have had owl collections since the first four became Tem- ple members. Dr. Gladfelter, for- mer President of the University, currently has the most formida- ble collection. We have also been the recip- ient of owls, both live and sculp- tiu-ed. In 1984, the Philadelphia Zoo dedicated the CentenniOwl to Temple University. Again in 1988, Benjamin Bufano, an Ital- ian artist gave us the Red Owl. Now, almost 100 years after the first owl was given life, it is still a symbol of strength and wisdom for the Temple commu- nity. TraditionsXLIFE 21

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Temple 3rzd nd by Jecin-Mcirie Martino The Temple T Everywhere you travel on campus, you can see the omnipresent Temple T. On Weiss Hall and the Computer Math- ematics Building, as well as above Broad Street, our logo is proudly displayed. This was not always so. Prior to Peter Liacouras ' becoming president. Temple ' s logo was a round seal with the Com- monwealth building in the center. Pres- ident Liacouras decided early in his ten- ure that Temple was in need of a new symbol. President Liacouras wanted Temple students to make the symbol themselves because we have the creativity it takes to produce lasting art and the spirit needed to inspire such a symbol of unity. With the help of eight Tyler School of Art graduate students, later referred to as The Logo Team, and many hours of brainstorming, the T was adopted. Kris Herrick, the graduate student personally responsible for creating the chosen logo, said she thought of the style because it is used on athletic sweaters. There were originally three logos up for the position, but this T was a success wdth President Liacouras and the Com- mittee because of its boldness, versa- tility, and ability to work well on tel- evision. The T has appeared on The Cosby Show. Prior to the T, all of the different schools and colleges at Temple were us- ing different logos. With the adoption of the T over seven years ago, Temple shows unity throughout all of its cam- puses v th its symbol of spirit in the sky. i Acres of Diamonds ' ' Russell Conwell is a man famous for many contributions: authoring over 40 books, fighting in the Civil War, writing and traveling for Boston newspapers, founding Samaritan (now Temple Uni- versity) Hospital, and for his great speech Acres of Diamonds. Acres of Diamonds is the tale Conwell was told during his trip to Mesopotamia at age 17. According to Conwell, an old Buddhist priest had spoken to Ali Hafed, a Persian farmer, of a wealth of dia- monds available by a river that runs over white sand between high moun- tains, in those sands you will always see diamonds. The priest told Hafed he could buy a whole country and be happy if he had diamonds. So Hafed left his home and searched many years for an acre of di- amonds to make him eternally happy. Many years later, Hafed died far from home, old and vsathout any diamonds. After his death, fabulous diamonds were found on Ali Hafed ' s own land. This tale became a favorite of Conwell. He often said: Your diamonds are not in far-away mountains or in distant seas; they are in your ov m back yard if you will but dig for them. Conwell also told a story of how in 1844, seven young men approached him asking to be taught. These diamonds were the first students of Temple Uni- versity. ♦ ♦♦♦♦♦ •♦♦♦♦♦ ♦ ♦♦♦♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦♦♦♦ •♦♦♦♦♦ ♦ ♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦♦♦♦♦ ♦ ♦♦♦♦ ► ♦♦♦♦♦ 20 LIFE Traditions

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