Stanford tree mascot fired for drunkenness

[brinkeguthrie]

(right. at a Cal-Stanford game. not too much drinking there.)

Stanford tree mascot fired for alleged basketball game drunkenness

A rowdy Stanford University mascot was fired after being discovered drunk during a basketball game, university officials said.

Fifth-year senior Erin Lashnits, who dresses as a tree for the university's irreverent band, was stripped of her duties last week after her blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.157 during a men's basketball game at the University of California, Berkeley. For the purposes of driving a vehicle in California, legally drunk is .08.

Stanford went on to lose the Feb. 9 game 65-62.

The university had previously placed the band on "alcohol suspension," which requires a zero-tolerance policy toward drunkenness, said band spokesman Sam Urmy. Lashnits was fired to avoid disciplinary penalties from the athletic department, Urmy said.

"We don't want to risk our core mission of rocking out and bringing funk to the funkless," Urmy said.

[LMU]

Wait... I thought it was a requirement to be drunk if you were Stanford's mascot or in the Stanford Band.

[leopard88]

Not clear whether she was an "at will" employee. I hope there is isn't another lawsuit in the works.

[aerodynamix]

Wait... I thought it was a requirement to be drunk if you were Stanford's mascot or in the Stanford Band.

Haha. I wish I had that job. Always wondered what it'd be like to be a mascot.

[yh]

Hmmmmm. I wonder if this is California's first documented case of a T.W.I.

[brinkeguthrie]

Wait... I thought it was a requirement to be drunk if you were Stanford's mascot or in the Stanford Band.

Haha. I wish I had that job. Always wondered what it'd be like to be a mascot.

Well, it's great. I WAS a mascot where I worked, (http://www.wkrq.com.). I was the production director/writer/sometimes anncr- but I was also the only one skinny enough to fit into a furry banana costume. Out morning show slogan was "those guys are bananas." So one Saturday, my boss woke me up and said, 'if we had a superhero called Bananaman, what kinda voice would you give him?' So I go, 'GREETINGS CITIZENS! BANANAMAN IS HERE!' -a real deap bassy superhero voice. Monday morning, he tossed the suit at me. wore it with bright yellow high top Converse.

I sorta looked like this:

http://www.jambajuice.com/community/bananaman.html

Tho I was waaaay ahead of Jamba Juice. They owe me money, I think.

I made personal appearances, had my own billboards, stole elvis's intro theme and made it my own, rode around town and handed out $5,000 cash per week to one person, HUGE. you wrote us to tell us where you would be at Thursday 4pm..and if we chose your name and arrived at your spot and you had the radio tuned to us with a sign that said Q102, well, I whipped 50 100 dollar bills out. And people just went..well, bananas.

I got chased by people as I drove around (wearing the suit) in my VW Cabriolet convertible. I said at the time, "I now know what it's like to be a Beatle."

[Bleujayone]

"Honestly Officer I'm perfectly sober, I was just driving down the street minding my own business when out of nowhere this tree just swerved out and hit my car!"

.............................................

Who the hell has a TREE for a mascot?

When Stanford originally decided to drop the nickname "Indians" they let the study body pick a new name. They picked "Thunder Chickens". The Stanford Board of Trustees overruled them and selected "Cardinal". (YAWN) By the way is it a bad sign when your school's mascot is a tree and your school's good luck charm is an axe?

All things considered, I would have liked to have seen a logo for Thunder Chickens. (Maybe not the one below- but you get the idea)

[NJTank]

I guess you can say Timmmmmmmmmmmmber

[Bleujayone]

Hmmmmm...