{"id":25242,"date":"2026-04-01T09:05:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=25242"},"modified":"2026-04-14T09:13:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T17:13:41","slug":"wolfie-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wolfie-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Wolfie changes?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A photo of Wolfie, Western\u2019s infamous mascot. | Photo by Moth Martinez-Faccio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Disclaimer: all articles featured in this issue are fake in celebration of April Fool\u2019s Day<\/b><\/p>\n

April 1, 2026 | Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief<\/span><\/p>\n

Last fall, Western lost hard in a football match against California Polytechnic State University Sept. 13 \u2014 56 to 7 \u2014 that not only devastated the team, but was felt from the stands. Students left the game boiling with frustration over multiple flags and crushed by defeat, but none of it matched what Wolfie was seemingly feeling.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Western mascot was spotted at the end of the match, hovering off the field, stomping and punching the air. Prior to the loss, the wolf was seated glumly on an empty bench, looking upset. While leaving with a crowd of students, Wolfie snatched the brandished hat of a student from the enemy school and tossed it into a nearby bush. The altercation resulted in a slight scuffle off-field \u2014 with Wolfie and the Cal Poly student tousling on the ground for about fifteen seconds before being pulled apart by onlookers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, Western has reduced Wolfie\u2019s appearances without a public explanation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we can appreciate how much Wolfie cares about Western and Western\u2019s teams\u2019 continued victories, we\u2019re stepping back to evaluate the role of this specific mascot,\u201d stated a Western spokesperson. \u201cWe can\u2019t release any more information yet, but the students will definitely know when it\u2019s time for a change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the event, and student concern over Wolfie\u2019s aggravated behavior, Campus Public Safety said: \u201cWell, what can you expect from a wolf?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Campus Public Safety also reported that Wolfie was well-maintained and taken on \u201cmultiple walks daily,\u201d providing no further explanation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCampus Public Safety thinks Wolfie is an actual wolf? Like, the animal?\u201d questioned Western\u2019s spokesperson, seemingly unaware of the ongoing discussion. \u201cIs that what students think, too?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what I think,\u201d said one student. \u201cI don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a person or not. I just don\u2019t know how I should be referring to it. Is Wolfie a girl? I don\u2019t want to just, you know, assume it\u2019s a man. Are most mascots boys, like how boats are always women? I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, Wolfie could be facing potential criminal charges, further reason for Western to reconsider Wolfie as their representation. Allegedly, following the team\u2019s loss Sept. 13, a student noticed Wolfie at the wheel of a Rivian in the parking lot, driving recklessly and even backing into a student\u2019s Ford Focus when leaving the parking spot. The student was unable to record the license plate, and after trying to report the crash to Campus Public Safety, it was dismissed because \u201cwolves can\u2019t drive cars.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rumors have since soared regarding Wolfie\u2019s potential replacement, with students campaigning for a unique, new mascot, one never before adopted by a university.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThink about it \u2014 we could have a whole new theme. People could come to Western just because our mascot is so cool,\u201d said a student. \u201cIt could be a mythical creature. I\u2019m sure there\u2019s some legal claim on, like, Bigfoot, or Mothman, but imagine like, a skunk ape, or like a carnivorous tree. That\u2019d be really awesome, I think.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019m just a bug fan, so I\u2019d probably say something like a beetle or spider,\u201d another student added. \u201cI\u2019m not picky. Western pine beetles are a thing \u2014 we could be one of those \u2014\u00a0 and they attack California trees, kind of like what Wolfie did to the Cal Poly student.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Western rejected the concept of capitalizing on a cryptid as Western\u2019s new mascot almost immediately after a few students put together a low-scoring petition. More students, however, set up visible \u201cFREE WOLFIE\u201d signs from their dorm windows, advocating for another appearance amidst the controversies. One single sign in retaliation said: \u201c#WOLFIEISOVERPARTY,\u201d with another saying \u201cPUT HIM DOWN.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One thing is for certain: nothing has been announced yet as of April 1 \u2014 today, April Fool\u2019s Day, but more information is sure to come out.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact the author at howleditorinchief@wou.edu<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Disclaimer: all articles featured in this issue are fake in celebration of April Fool\u2019s Day April 1, 2026 | Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief Last fall, Western lost hard in a football match against California Polytechnic State University Sept. 13 \u2014 56 to 7 \u2014 that not only devastated the team, but was felt from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1645,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Wolfie changes?","_seopress_titles_desc":"Students anticipate possible new mascot amidst controversy","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1542,6721,1769,4132,9661,9660,7839,3383,6836,9659,1271,1254,684,3927,3381,39],"class_list":["post-25242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-april","tag-article","tag-change","tag-day","tag-fool","tag-fools","tag-joke","tag-mascot","tag-oregon-2","tag-prank","tag-school","tag-university","tag-western","tag-wolf","tag-wolfie","tag-wou"],"modified_by":"saragerrick","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25246,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25242\/revisions\/25246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}