URGENT: Wild Animal on the Loose!
25 Jan 1998
After a few months of bear-sitting, we here representing Wesleyan Cross Country have decided that the creativeness in stealing The Bear that once made it what it is (to teams other than Williams) is gone. With the exception of a few violent escapades, there were no respectable efforts to take it from us since we acquired it late in this year’s cross country season.
Because of this, and the fact that we may not have gained our furry friend as admirably as we would have liked, we present a challenge to NESCAC cross country teams. Our community seems to be closer than in past years, possibly because of post-season play woes. We feel that the bear is ready to transfer again with the new semester. He is open to all types of small New England liberal arts educations. We offer T. Bear to another school with no price attached – tuition and board provided by you. In fact, while you are reading this, Mr. Bear is waiting to be picked up at the location described below. We understand that Williams may have the most profound relationship and more than half of NESCAC schools have never had the bear, and this was taking into consideration. But not too much.
For those of you who don’t know of this animal or don’t understand read on: in past years, the bear has surfaced at multiple cross country meets, most notably the ones including the teams of the Little 3. There are multiple stories that claim the true origins of the giant stuffed beast, but these are insignificant for this mission. Most stories are consistent with the fact that bear has changed hands many times, and he has welcomed change with open paws, provided the change was a well-deserved non-violent exchange. It has been an unspoken rule that after each exchange the new team would be allowed to affix one item representative of his new owner’s team (we recently made him a working Wesleyan University Student ID).
After visiting two other countries, T. Bear and his paraphernalia have been sitting at Wesleyan for a few months. Certain coaches have notified our coaches that they are onto us, and want “their” bear back. This is only an incentive to keep it longer, but we now fear the only way the bear will get to visit another school is if there is a confrontation that results in no less than a royal rumble. We look forward to getting him back in the future via creative means, and that can only happen if he leaves us for a time.
If nobody claims (“finds”) T. Bear by the end of the month, we will let our teammates with conflicting interests have a chance at it — a very good chance.
Keep us informed of your pursuits and good luck to you all.
what could these be for?
1. The first letter of the All-New England Conn College’s male or female captain’s first name.
2. The second letter in the last name of Hamilton’s head coach.
3. If you take the name of the Trinity library and add up the number of letters, that number letter in the alphabet is what you are trying to find (A=1, B=2, etc…).
4. The number of letters in the first name of a graduate student at Tufts from a town in southwestern Connecticut on the Men’s Cross Country team will equal the number of the letter in the alphabet that you are trying to find (same logic as 3).
5. This team’s fifth man at the 1996 SUNY Cortland Invitational. 4th letter in his hometown. The men’s team was 22nd overall at this meet.
6. The second letter in the last name of the fastest Williams runner to hook up with a coach.
7. The third letter in the last name of the runner that ran the 101st fastest time ever on Wesleyan’s home course, Veterans Park.
8. The second letter in the last name of a female Bates running astrology guru.
9. The second letter in the 1997 New England D3 Mens’ Regional Champion’s middle name.
!. The fourth letter in the title of the magazine that named a NESCAC alum “Sexiest Author Alive.”
@. The number of schools in NESCAC in 1980 (ALL the letters in the spelling of the number of schools).
#. The second letter in the first name of the fastest beer-miler in NESCAC history (no puking!).
$. The fourth letter in the spelled-out number of letters in all 4 of the 1997 Wesleyan captains’ last names.
%. The first letter of the home state of this year’s women’s Little 3 Champion’s older brother.
&. The first letter in the last name of the tallest graduate of the same high school as Chelsea Clinton’s in NESCAC.
*. The NUMBER (no letters) of Wesleyan’s NESCAC Mens’ team finish in 1993.
the plot thickens…
Follow the maze through the shortest path. The order of the symbols you pass through is the order of the corresponding blanks below.
The bear is at:
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
s
t
a
r _________________________________________________________________________
|t| ___ &___________ | |_ | | _________________ | * | |9 _____ 8 7|
| | | | |_ ___| | __| | | | | |____ | ____________| | | | | |___ | | |
|___|___| | | | | |_____| |$|___|_______| __ | __ | | |___| |____ | | | |
| _______|___|___| | ______|___ | | |__ | |__ |___| | ____| ___| | | |
| |% | ____________|_______| | | | + | | __| ___|6 ___|_______| ____| | |
|___| |___________ 7 ______ | | | |___|__ |__ | | ____|& 1| ____ |_______| |
|9 _____________ | | _____| | |___ | _| __| | _____|___| ____| 3 | ____|
| |2 _____ | |+| | | ___| | | _|_____| | | | | |_______| |_____|
| | | ___| | | | | |_| |%| |___|___| | # |@|$|%|___|________ | __| ____|
|__ | |_______|_____| _ _|________ | |___|_____________ | | __|__ |____ |
| __|2 ___ | | | | | | ___| ^| | |__ | | | |__ | __| ___|
|_____| | | | | | | | |#|___| + |_ | | | |___| | _| | | | | __|_ | | |
| | _| |___| |_| |_|______ | |_ | | |___| |4| | _| |___|_ | | __| | |
| |___| _| _ @| ___________|_ |___| | ___|___| | | __| __ |___| 7 | | |
| | ____| _| | |___ | | | | 6 | | | ___ ___| |__ | | _| |1 _|___| |
| |_______|___|___| |___|___|___| | | ___| ____ | _____| | ___| __@ _|
|___ _ @ _____ _|____8 _________| | | | | ____| | 0| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | __| | |_ _|! | __ | | |2|___|_______|___|___|___| | | | | |
| |___| | | |__ | |__ | | __| | | __| | ____ ____ ____ | | | | | | |
| _____| | ___ 8| __| |__ | | |_____| | ___|____ |___ | | | | | | | | | |
| | | ___| | | |__ | | __|___| _____|+| ________| | |__ | | | | | | | |
| | | | _ | | | | __| |__ | __ _| | _|____ | __ 3|___ %__| | | | | | | |
| |___| | |_| | | |__ | | __|_ | _| | | _____|___| |$ |__ | | | | | | | |
| | 7 | |_____|___|6____|___ 5|4|3| __| | | ____| |____ | |_| | | | | |
|___|_______________________|_____|_____|___|___|_______|_____|_____|___|___*
e
n
d
Good luck!
