Editor’s note: Finally a dean with a sense of humor. The perpetrators did NOT get expelled or arrested!
College Prankster Puts Zebra in Emory Campus Building
by Charles Molineaux
MyFoxAtlanta.com
April 23, 2008
Oxford, Ga. (FOX 5) – Emory University was investigating the appearance of a zebra on the third floor of a building on its Oxford campus Wednesday. Somehow, someone got the animal up there Wednesday morning.
Right in the middle of the crunch before finals, students at Emory Oxford got an impromptu wildlife show, courtesy of a prankster with a sense of tradition.
The sight of an 800 pound zebra stunned students as they watched Newton County Animal Control coax and drag the animal out of Emory Oxford’s historic Seny Hall.
“And everyone’s jaw dropped and I’m looking up and there’s a zebra in the window, tapping its head on the glass. It was ridiculous,” said Emory Oxford Andrew Wilkinson.
Somehow, someone got the zebra, named “Bar Code” up onto the third floor of the building where security guards discovered it Wednesday morning.
The animal’s owner said Bar Code was lured away from his farm, about a half-mile away from the school.
School officials said the culprits blocked Seny Hall’s stairs and disabled the elevator, making the episode last even longer.
“It was pacing mostly. From what I heard, it ate some of the furniture which is lamentable but I’d say that’s a worthy casualty of a great prank,” said Emory Oxford student Zachary Hennessee.
For all the drama and disruption, Emory Oxford administrators said the incident was not unprecedented.
“There’s an old Oxford tradition of leading large quadrupeds to the third floor of Seny Hall. In the past, there have been cows and chickens and pigeons released,” said Dean Stephen Bowen of Emory Oxford.
The last time a large animal appeared on the campus happened nearly 50 years ago when a cow was found on Seny Hall’s third floor during finals.
“Little harm done. It delayed classes for half the day and made a bit of a mess but aside from a few zebra droppings, there’s no serious damage. This is pretty good actually. We’ve never had a zebra before. I’d give this one an A minus,” joked Bowen.
Animal control workers said they had to take the situation very carefully. Even though Bar Code was raised by people on a farm, zebras are still large, wild animals capable of causing injury.
Check out the video here.