Auburn, AL (377 miles from home)
Hi Jake and Ms. Rorie’s Class,
Flat Stanley came to visit me in Auburn right before Auburn University played in the BCS National Championship Football game. He wanted to take his picture with the tickets to the game before we had to get on a plane to fly to the football game.
Flat Stanley was so excited to get to go to the football game with my daughter. Here he is outside of the stadium waiting to get inside to watch some football!
Stanley had a great time cheering for the Auburn Tigers. He is definitely a Tiger fan now!
After the game he went to visit our friends back in Auburn to celebrate the great win.
Anne Adrian
Auburn, Alabama Part 2
Flat Stanley came to visit me and my fiancé in Auburn after the BCS National Championship game. While he was there he took a picture with Jared in front of Toomer’s Corner.
Auburn has a lot of really cool traditions. For example, if our football team wins a game all of the students take toilet paper and “roll” the oak trees at Toomer’s Corner. This is similar to the rocks that some schools paint, but its trees instead of a rock.
After the team won the National Championship, thousands of people flooded the corner to throw toilet paper. There were so many people the police had to block the roads off!
After Flat Stanley inspected our work at Toomer’s he took off on another adventure, but not before learning a little more about the university.
Here’s what we told him:
– Auburn was established in 1856 as the East Alabama Male College.
– In 1872, the school became the first land-grant college in the South and was renamed the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama
– In 1899 the name changed again to the Alabama Polytechnic Institute.
– Finally, in 1960 the name was changed to Auburn University. This name fit the school better because the university expanded to offer degrees in areas other than agriculture.
– 25,078 students attend Auburn.
Then we told him about the FUN STUFF—the traditions!
– School Mascot: a mischievous and lovable tiger named Aubie. You should enjoy this video on it.
– Battle Cry: War Eagle!
- Many times people think the eagle is our mascot. That is not true. Though we do have three eagles, a bald eagle named “Spirit” and two golden eagles named “Tiger” and “Nova,” they aren’t our official mascots.
- The eagles fly around the stadium before football games.
- If you want, you can watch Tiger’s final flight here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLF2OHEIPuY)
- Spirit and Nova now do all the pregame flights for Auburn.
- All of Auburn’s birds live at the Southeastern Raptor Center.
– Before each football game the players march through “Tiger Walk” and fans gather around and cheer for them.
– Hey Day is another Auburn tradition where every student makes an effort to say “Hey!” to every person they meet on campus. Auburn men and women are very friendly!
Other fun Auburn Facts:
– Auburn University has graduated six astronauts. One of those was Kathryn Thorton, the second woman in space. Thomas K. Mattingly, who was on the Apollo 13, also graduated from Auburn.
– Auburn University’s Canine Detection Research Institute in the College of Veterinary Medicine helps train dogs to detect explosives for law enforcement and the military.
– Auburn is home to the oldest continuous cotton experiment in the world. The “Old Rotation” has made its home on Ag Hill since 1896.
– A lot of other cool stuff is going on at Auburn! You can check it out on Auburn’s Website. (www.auburn.edu)
I hope you had a good time learning a little about Auburn. If you have any questions, please let me know!
Jillian Stephens