On Wednesday, December 6th, Bryant held the annual Festival of Lights event. It was at this event that our beloved first mascot, Ironclad Tupper (“Tupper”), suddenly collapsed and died.
Bryant adopted Tupper as our first mascot in 2009. Ever since then, Tupper became every student’s icon of joy, love, and showed fierceness of Bryant pride. It deeply saddens all that we unexpectedly had to say good-bye to our favorite pup.
Our president, Ronald Machtley, as well as Tupper’s parents took to Twitter to relay the devastating news. However, they also are posting old videos and photos of Tupper, and spreading awareness for bulldogs all over. Tupper was not only our mascot, but he was our little buddy that made us smile.
If you ask any Bryant student their thoughts on Tupper, we guarantee it would be nothing but great memories about our four-legged friend and will more likely than not bring up a photo of themselves with Tupper. He was a very photogenic guy, and his bulldog smile was contagious.
The Boston Globe has even published an article about Tupper, and included is a past interview our Her Campus chapter had conducted with Tupper! All in all, he’s a pretty big deal.
It has been mentioned that we will now be looking for another bulldog to adopt to replace our dear Tupper. But the question of, “can Tupper ever really be replaced?” is still up in the air.
However, in light of Ironclad Tupper’s sudden death, the Bryant community will come together and love this new Tupper as much as the last.
Ironclad Tupper set such a high precedent for the bulldogs that will be following in his footsteps, but this is because Bryant does not accept anything but the best, always.
Rest in Peace Ironclad Tupper (2009-2017)