Keggy The Keg - History

History

Shortly after Keggy's introduction in 2003, a group of students stole the Keggy costume from its home in the Sigma Nu fraternity library and sent threatening notes to Keggy's creators, including photographs of the mascot bound and gagged with one black eye. Some thought this to be a publicity stunt by the creators, but the mascot had truly been stolen. Keggy was eventually returned with minor damage to the costume.

Keggy continued to make occasional appearances at Dartmouth sporting events, and became an "ingrained part of Dartmouth culture": at Dartmouth's 2005 Winter Carnival celebration, students named the snow sculpture of a large ship "Captain Keggy's Carnival Cruiser." In early 2006, College officials denied Keggy entrance to a sold-out hockey game (officials cited fire code concerns with the capacity crowd), prompting a Jack-O-Lantern-penned editorial in The Dartmouth condemning the incident; the Jack-O-Lantern website alleged "anti-keg racism." A similar incident occurred in October 2006 when Keggy was not permitted on the field at halftime of the Homecoming football game, again resulting in further complaints in The Dartmouth and on the Jack-O-Lantern website.

The costume disappeared before the fall term of 2008 and has not been seen or returned since. The Jack-O-Lantern built a replacement costume and unveiled it at the 2009 Winter Carnival.