By Ripon Media in College Days on November 3, 2021
Save The Squirrels
Ripon College students went above and beyond during Squirrel Awareness Month this year
By Madelyn Kohn
This semester, students at Ripon College have a particular liking for the squirrels on campus. Squirrel Awareness Month, celebrated in October, was taken to a whole new level on campus through social media.
The Ripon College Instagram page, @riponcollege, has brought a popular friend out of hibernation, Rip the Squirrel. Additionally, there are two pro-squirrel accounts that are taking over the students’ feed on Instagram: @riponcollegesquirrels and @squirrelsofripon.
Rip the Squirrel has been all over campus. Each week the @riponcollege account posts Rip in a new location on campus and encourages their followers to guess where Rip is. This is a fun activity enjoyed by the students on campus.
Rip the Squirrel sparked the idea of another page to be created on Instagram, the @riponcollegesquirrels account. This account really focuses on the promotion of friendly squirrels by posting action shots of squirrels as well as what they call, “squirrel jokes.”
Some of these silly lines include one written by freshman Stephanie Peters, “What happens when more than one squirrel acts like a nut? There ends up being a ‘squarrel,’’’ as well as another joke written by another freshman, Mia Bekish: “What type of TV do squirrels watch? Nut-Flix.”
On the other hand, the @squirrelsofripon page introduces one who has the power of summoning squirrels, the Squirrel-Man, also known as a freshman on campus, Jaden Francis.
“I seem to be like Hammy from “Over the Hedge,” or in certain circumstances, Twitchy from “Hoodwinked.” Squirrels have a certain nature about them that makes them who, or what they are,” Francis said.
This promotion of keeping the squirrels on campus safe and loved, is a new way for students to enjoy themselves and the environment. The instagram accounts hope to continue to grow in popularity among students and give them a smile as they finish up the rest of the semester.
As Francis likes to say, “‘Til next time, ‘Squirrel – Man: Into the Squirrel-Verse.’”
