The Albino Squirrel Preservation Society (ASPS) is an international collegiate organization dedicated to "fostering compassion and goodwill" toward albino squirrels. The ASPS has approximately 700 members in eight chapters across the United States, Canada and England.
Founded in April 2001 at the University of Texas at Austin, the first ASPS chapter was created to celebrate a longstanding legend on campus, which states that seeing an albino squirrel before a test is good luck. [1] [2] In reality none of the white squirrels on campus were technically albino and are instead typical fox squirrels with lighter coats. [3] [4] [5] In less than a year, the UT Austin chapter became one of the largest official student organizations in the University's history.
After widespread popularity at UT Austin, the society's second and third chapters formed at the University of North Texas [6] and University of Pennsylvania, respectively. [7] In the following years, ASPS chapters were formed at the University of Western Ontario, Cambridge University, Texas A&M University, Illinois State University, the Juilliard School of Music, the University of Louisville, and Concord High School in Concord, California.
The ASPS has gained nationwide popularity through a number of media appearances, most notably with the University of North Texas chapter's appearance on Animal Planet. Club activities include pro-squirrel rallies, campouts, and t-shirt sales. [7]
TheUniversity of Texas at Austin is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 graduate students and 3,133 teaching faculty as of Fall 2021, it is also the largest institution in the system.
The University of Texas at Dallas is a public research university in Richardson, Texas. It is one of the largest public universities in the Dallas area and the northernmost institution of the University of Texas system. It was initially founded in 1961 as a private research arm of Texas Instruments.
The Machine, the former Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at the University of Alabama, is a coalition of Panhellenic sororities and IFC and NPHC fraternities that formed a secret society with some degree of influence over campus and Alabama state politics. The group, which has operated in varying degrees of secrecy since 1914, is credited with selecting and ensuring the election of candidates for Student Government Association, Homecoming Queen, and other influential on-campus and off-campus offices, including the Student Government Association Senate. It was evidently first publicly noted as "a political machine" in 1928 by Alabama's campus newspaper, The Crimson White. Then in a 1945 article in the newspaper, it was referred to as "the machine", and the name has stuck ever since. It is alleged that The Machine plays a real role in both the politics of the student community and in the political careers of numerous Alabama Politicians.
Southwestern University is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern offers 40 bachelor's degrees in the arts, sciences, fine arts, and music as well as interdisciplinary and pre-professional programs. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the National Association of Schools of Music and historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
The University of Texas at Tyler is a public research university in Tyler, Texas. Founded in 1971, it is a part of the University of Texas System.
Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) commonly just referred to as "squirrels". They include more than 100 arboreal species native to all continents except Antarctica and Oceania.
Texas Student Media (TSM) is an auxiliary enterprise of the University of Texas at Austin (UT) and the largest student media operation in the United States. It is composed of faculty, student, and professional news industry representatives.
The Main Building is a structure at the center of the University of Texas at Austin campus in Downtown Austin, Texas, United States. The Main Building's 307-foot (94 m) tower has 27 floors and is one of the most recognizable symbols of the university and the city.
The Cockrell School of Engineering is one of the eighteen colleges within the University of Texas at Austin. It has more than 8,000 students enrolled in eleven undergraduate and thirteen graduate programs. The college is ranked 10th in the world according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, 9th nationally for undergraduate programs and 6th nationally for graduate programs by U.S. News & World Report. Nine of the ten undergraduate programs and seven of the eleven graduate programs are ranked in the top ten nationally. Annual research expenditures are over $180 million and the school has the fourth-largest number of faculty in the National Academy of Engineering.
There are many collegiate secret societies in North America. They vary greatly in their level of secrecy and the degree of independence from their universities. A collegiate secret society makes a significant effort to keep affairs, membership rolls, signs of recognition, initiation, or other aspects secret from the public.
The Perry–Castañeda Library (PCL) is the main central library of the University of Texas at Austin library system in Austin, Texas. PCL is located at 21st Street and Speedway in Austin, TX.
The Moody College of Communication is the communication college at The University of Texas at Austin. The college is home to top-ranked programs in advertising and public relations, communication studies, communication sciences and disorders, journalism, and radio-television-film. The Moody College is nationally recognized for its faculty members, research and student media. It offers seven undergraduate degrees, including those in Journalism, Advertising, and Radio-Television-Film, and 17 graduate programs. The Moody College of Communication operates out of the Jesse H. Jones Communication Complex and the Dealey Center for New Media, which opened in November 2012. The college has a $106 million endowment as of April 14, 2016.
The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture (UTSOA) is a college within The University of Texas at Austin, with its major facilities located on the main university campus in Austin, Texas. UTSOA's dean is Michelle Addington. In 2016, the school's former dean, Frederick "Fritz" Steiner, stepped down citing Texas Government Code Section 411.2031, also known as "Campus Carry," which entitles licensed individuals to carry concealed handguns onto the campus of an institution of higher education.
The Texas Cowboys is an honorary student organization at the University of Texas that is currently suspended due to hazing violations. The organization was founded in 1922 by Arno Nowotny and Bill McGill, with the purpose of serving the University of Texas, as well as the surrounding area, with the motto: "Give the best you have to Texas, and the best will come back to you." Prior to its suspension in 2019, it was considered one of the "oldest and most elite student organizations" at the university, according to the Dallas Morning News. The Texas Cowboys served as ambassadors of the University of Texas and were present at numerous significant university-sponsored events.
The National Association of Scholars (NAS) is an American non-profit politically conservative advocacy organization, with a particular interest in education. It opposes a perceived political correctness on college campuses and supports a return to mid-20th-century curricular and scholarship norms, and an increase in conservative representation in faculty.
West Campus is a neighborhood in central Austin, Texas west of Guadalupe Street and its namesake, the University of Texas at Austin. Due to its proximity to the university, West Campus is heavily populated by college students. The area is known for its colorful residential buildings.
The University of Texas School of Information is a graduate school and undergraduate school at the University of Texas at Austin, offering master's and doctoral degrees in information studies, as well as certificates of advanced study and an undergraduate minor. In 2021, they began offering a bachelor's degree in informatics. UT iSchool graduates find careers in archival enterprise, information architecture, information policy, information systems design and management, information usability, librarianship, multimedia design, museum work, preservation and conservation, and records management.
Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) is a conservative youth organization based in Texas. Founded in 1980, it has chapters at 20 universities—including Baylor University, the University of North Texas, Texas A&M University, Texas State University, the University of Texas at Austin, Trinity University, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Texas Wesleyan University, St. Edwards University, and Texas Tech University.
The Tejas Club is one of the oldest student organizations at the University of Texas at Austin. It was founded in 1925, and only has male members. The official purpose of the club is "to allow our members to live a more complete life by sharing their personalities, abilities and efforts to promote good fellowship and a high standard of conduct among ourselves and our fellow students, to encourage loyalty and usefulness to our school, and to further good scholarship." The membership process of the organization is secretive and not open to the public.