The university’s own Archibald “Archie” McGrowl had an eventful weekend, temporarily facing charges after a run-in with police and the entire campus community.
Arch was fascinated by the “Cougar Cruiser,” which provides students with transportation to places around the local area. This transportation assists students who do not have vehicles on campus.
Tony Johnson, a sophomore nursing major, said he relies on it.
“I take it a lot, an unhealthy amount, I do not have a vehicle on campus because I totaled my car last summer, so having the cruiser allows me to go grocery shopping when I need to get food.”
However, Johnson was not able to ride the cruiser because he learned that the school mascot, Archie, had taken a spare car key from the office of President Myer Danny while the president was not in the room. This allowed Archie, who was now geared up with the cruiser key, to find a parked Cougar Cruiser behind Banks Student Life Center and unlock it.
Archie started the cruiser successfully; he put the gear into drive and took the newly painted white van around campus for a joyride, passing by student-athletes and waving at them in joy and excitement.
One eyewitness is freshman psychology major and football player John Smith, who was shocked that Archie was able to drive in such an effective manner even though Archie has never operated a vehicle since he’s usually driven around by an assistant in a golf cart. Joyrider Archie was able to get evade Campus Safety officers and all of their countermeasures, like roadblocks and spikes in the road.
“I have only been attending this university for less than a year. Is this a normal occurrence for us? I mean, I was not expecting Archie to literally switch gears into reverse like Need for Speed and blitz pass safety like that,” Smith said.
After an hour’s chase throughout campus watched by hundreds of students in between classes, the now infamous Archie was nabbed. Officers apprehended the speedy demon because the absconded vehicle ran out of gas.
Students said the site was amazing. Archie developed a tactic of jumping the curb in an attempt to avoid officers and their roadblocks, which ultimately damaged some university property and landscaping work performed by the groundskeepers.
After Archie stepped out of the Cougar Cruiser, he was detained by the newly arrived Dallas Police Department on charges of reckless driving, damage to property, and joyriding in the third degree. However, since Archie has been a well-known community, sharing joy with everyone he meets for decades, President Myer Danny decided not to press charges. Police dropped them.
The president5’s office released a joint statement with the Campus Safety, stating, “We acknowledge Archie’s actions were extremely reckless, but he is Archie, and we really do not know what to do with him. He is our mascot, and we will try to prevent such a future incident like this by keeping the keys out of reach.”