I am referring to this stupid article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/03/march-madness-if-you-root-against-kansas-you-root-against-america/72991/AND MY RESPONSE IS THIS:
The "jay hawk" was actually the 2nd choice for the university's mascot.
The first choice, while also a fictional bird, was more of a nod to the
region's evolving biological diversity.
Newly arriving settlers to the Kansas Territories were often amazed at the
abundance of what we refer to today as "barn swallows", so much so that the
area of what is today east-central Kansas was commonly referred to as
"swallow country". As more and more settlers moved to the area, so did
their livestock, influencing the overall makeup of the region's animal
population. One settler of the time described this integration of the
native and domesticated as "a rainbow of diversity, with a flag of waving
wheat and the song of the swallow and the crow of the rooster its anthem."
University founders were taken by this description of Kansas and thought a
representation of this sentiment would be a good emblem for their
university. So it was decided that the convergence of the rooster and
swallow would from that point on represent the University of Kansas.
They would forever be known as the Kansas Swallowcocks.
Unfortunately, the name wasn't greeted with the enthusiastic acceptance
that university founders had hoped. Rivals inverted the name and called them
Cockswallows, or in the native vernacular, "cock swallers". Others became
concerned over the origins of the mascot, fearing a literal union of a cock
and a swallow had indeed taken place. Still others feared the mascot may be
interpreted metaphorically in some way as an abomination to God.
However, the ultimate insult came when it was discovered that the
much-celebrated swallows were not swallows at all, but merely common blue
jays, a mistake that in retrospect seems absurdly incomprehensible. Despite
the obvious mis-identification, raging debates ensued between university
founders and the common, uneducated settlers. Fearing alienation and
widespread public backlash, university founders backed off their position
and conceded that the grandiose swallow upon which they had pinned their
identity was, in fact, merely the common blue jay.
In the end, a compromise was agreed upon. At the suggestion of town elders
it was decided that a virtual synonym of "swallow cock" would be the
official mascot of the university, and the "jayhawk" was adopted.
Even though the modern-era mascot bears little resemblance to the founders'
original selection, it still strongly represents their vision for the
university and the state as a whole.
What today is called a jayhawk, is still clearly a rainbow-flag waving,
cock-swallowing, beacon of ignorance and ironic arrogance.
