University of Akron - Tel Buch Yearbook (Akron, OH)

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The referee makes a questionable call and the crowd at the IAR erupts in disbelief But probably the most vocal person in the arena is the one that doesn t say a single word He is vocal by his actions and as he puts his hands up inthe air and paces back and forth you know he speaks for the fans Hey wait a minute that s a kangaroo you re talking about' Yes but that s Zippy the official mascot of The University of Akron Zippy was born in 1956 Isee related storyl and has been the figure that peo relate to most here at University For the second year in a row Todd Bowers a graduate student in educa tion is in the costume of Zippy Some people might think that ap pearing only at UA sporting events is 5 0 6 llllllgl 0YI Zlppy Zippy s only job but there s more I the summer we have a ton of promo tions to do for the University and then Zippy gets invited to a lot of other functions like parades and such says Todd The public relations Zippy gives to the university is carried over from top officials to families and to the ones that love Zippy the most the children Todd puts quality time into the char acter and it has paid off for him This past summer he was awarded the top mascot at a national cheerleading camp in Virginia A lot of ideas and things that I do are taught to us at camp But there are some things that have to be done on the spur of the moment at a game so you can t think of everything before hand that you want to do says Todd It doesn t bother Todd that not many people know that he is Zippy In fact he would rather have it that way I dont want people saying Look at what Todd is doing or why is Todd doing that? I want them to say Look at what Zippy is doing now I try to build a character as Zippy I want to keep a seperation from Zippy and my self says Todd Todd has had good memories these past two years as Zippy Probably my greatest feeling was when we won the OVC Championship last year and the team wanted Zippy to cut down part of the net I was hesitant at first but when I went up there the crowd erupted and I felt that I was doing this for the fans sort of like the 6th man Bob Pacanovsky I I ' I I ple the I l - , . I I I ' I ' I ll , . n , - I ' ' II I I . . . , . . , . II I I ' I ' ll I ' ll I I ' II Il ' I . . . ,, . ll , . ' ll I ' II fx ' W ttf , mil Bw- I.. ,, , r .A ,v i rift TAN f-A Zippy and this young admirer roam the sidelines before the start of the 33rd annual Acme-Zip game against Salem College. -7 it . MT 3 9' 'Q 4 V M 1 if Q' 'ld' ,R ... Q1 -.- C IJ O .C LIT gif I 4 4- A-. TESL! KX , 1 I 1 - Zippy, and UA's first Zippy, Pete Demming, meet at halftime of the Zips-Tennessee Tech game. Dem- ming was in the role of Zippy in 1956. 'N vi

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i ii 2 , it it ,E-TT' 51,12 . f,2f?i'l-it-.'4. -My ' Q '..1:- l'ti1-1- 2 r .H M f: 'fzlllrlll gif 1 Z Q 3 J lg,i.f'r .M if, ' 1 in mt . -. ffliillli ' 1 . ra 3 tillllijgi A . 3, -Flfillfifi it . it is' X .yy-,,.---- ' V E' I . GALLUC ll lr: i l 1 1. il tl vi . ll 'l i i i. with a X - ff lv,-, 'mm gg A .b At g E A-5 N ' it 1 is,-: ' 'uiwvl , ! 'X i ll . . .- -- . i, M, 4 '. .-,T ll ,.., 7 Resident Assistants Nelson Whit- Debbie Haswell, freshman, finds a tenmyer and Laura Donavan man comfortable spot by the hall phone the front desk on a quiet Thursday to catch up on the latest gossip. night. 'X-.pf ' w t A new era of on-campus living has begun. Starting the fall semester of the 1986-87 year, The University of Akron expanded its Residence Hall Program to include a co-ed facility at Gallucci Hall. Due to the acquisition of the Brown Street facility designed for men, it was necessary to reassign other facilities. The opportunity to go co-ed became possible in an effort to maintain a male- to-female ratio in the residence halls. Gallucci Hall had been housing 450 men for the past four years. Since turn- ing co-ed, Gallucci now houses ap- proximately 250 men and 200 women. At the end of the 1985-86 year, women living in the residence halls were given P17165 50W12fMhY1q6 Co-ed Residence Halls the option to live in Gallucci Hall the following term. Living at Gallucci is similar to living in other residence halls. Private bath- rooms and a little extra room provide more privacy. Laura Donovon, a resi- dent assistant at Gallucci, says there is a community feeling throughout the building. After getting used to living co-ed, the men and women come to rely on each other to be around. A co-ed residence hall is something new for The University of Akron. Nel- son Wittenmyer, a RA at Gallucci, ex- pressed concern about the image Gal- lucci projects to those who do not live there. The program here seems to be going well in its first year. Every resi- dence hall has problems. Being the first year of co-ed living, the positive as- pects rather than the negative should be emphasized. Steve Watts, a student living in Gal- lucci, recognized the positive aspects of co-ed living and plans to return next year. The guys don't seem to behave as wild as they would if girls weren't here. Would more co-ed living facilities exist on Akron's campus? jay Hershey, Director of Residence Halls, respond- ed, lf the need dictates the move to more co-ed facilities, Grant Resident Center could be a possible site. - Susan Andrews

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x 4' 100 WEAF 1, S. AQ:-in ,rt . til imr EH YIFS e...4N 'ul 1 . 1 ,, . V, i , . .'.,? ini .' .tl , z.. .4 Zippy shows his community sup- port by donning a Goodyear cap at a game against Austin Peay. I wonder if he talked to Goldsmith? How did they get a tuxedo that big? Zippy goes all out at the Zips bas- ketball preview, held at Tangier's. Zippy's Debut With butterflies in his stomach and a feeling of being absolutely scared to death, Perry Pete Demming stepped onto the field of the Rubber Bowl for his first performance. It was a cool fall evening in September 1954 when Zippy the Kangaroo mascot for the Univer- sity - with the help of Demming - made his debut. Once on the field, Demming's jitters subsided. In front of nearly 30,000 for an Acme-Zip game, Dem- ming's antics that first night introduced Zippy's enter- taining personality to Akron fans. It was the beginning of a friendship that has matured for 33 years. Although Demming last performed as the mascot in 1956, his ties to Akron U and the community remain committed. As a successful Akron businessman, he is a co-owner of a commercial roofing business. He is also a supporter of the university and a fan of its athletic teams and mascot. Zippy, he says, brings to sporting events a human element, even though he is a kangaroo. The mascot has geniunely got to have other people's interests at heart. Zippy gives the fans what they want. Kangaroos as mascots are not common. Zippy, the only known herbivorous leaping marsupial mammal mascot tthat's a kangarool in captivity, was the idea of Akron U student Bob Savoy. A member of the student council, Savoy chaired a committee given the chal- lenge of selecting a school mascot. On May 1, 1953, upon the recommendation of the committee, the stu- dent council voted to declare the kangaroo as the mas- cot of the university's athletic teams. Akron U's cheerleaders, knowing Demming for both his athletic and comic abilities, encouraged him to be- come the first Zippy. Christened in honor fo the school's nickname, Zips, the young mascot didn't really resemble a kangaroo. More like a brown cow. The first costume was drab compared to today's color- ful one. My head was made out of paper-mache and I don't know where they found it, Demming mused. Proba- bly in the shop for Halloween. Whenever Akron played arch rival Kent State, the opposition took great sport in chiding the mascot for his looks. Demming usually handled the taunting with humor. Most of the time I would just tell'em, 'Yeah, but it's one good lookin' cowl' The person responsible for those good looks was unknown to Zip fans. Zippy and his unique personality, was and is based on anonymity. Outside of the cheer- leaders and a few school officials, no one knew the mascot's identity. Demming enjoyed portraying Zippy. There were no guidelines. I did whatever I wanted to . . . I kinda still do. It felt so good to make the fans laugh. Now, Demming sits in the stands and watches some- one else, as Zippy, make people feel good-himself included. - Mary Beth Hanna Opening