Uconn Culture

When people mention and discuss UConn culture, the first two things that come to my mind are the UConn Dairy bar and some images about huskies.

UConn Dairy Bar

The UConn dairy bar is an ice cream shop with a time of history that is located in the Storrs campus. “The UConn Dairy Bar opened in 1953 to sell dairy products that were made by the Creamery. The Creamery was established in the early 1900s and bottled milk all the way up until 1991.”(dining.uconn.edu) It said so on the website of UConn Dairy Bar and here is a video of introducing UConn creamery and Diary Bar. For UConn students, it is much more than just an ice cream shop, it is a special symbol of UConn. As a university that is known for its agriculture, the UConn Dairy Bar has always made its ice cream by using milk produced by cows from the UConn own farm. And this is the reason why the ice cream in the UConn Dairy Bar is always tastier and healthier than other brands.

        

(The UConn Diary Bar)

In the UConn dairy bar, they not only sell many of the common flavors of ice cream as other brands, but also have many creative flavors that are unique in this shop. For example, the very famous flavor-husky tracks. It may sound confusing when people first hear it, people may wonder what could a husky taste like? In fact, this is actually a blend of flavors that they've created by themselves. It’s a blend of vanilla ice cream with fudge swirl and Reese's peanut butter cups. I have tried it several times, it tastes just like a mix of milk, vanilla and peanut. And I really like it even though I didn’t like the taste of peanuts before.

(Ice creams & me in dairy Bar)

The main reason why I chose the UConn Dairy Bar as an aspect of UConn culture is I think this is a very special place. Every time I introduce my school to my friends and families, I always talk to them about the UConn Dairy Bar. I always tell them how healthy and strong the ice cream shop is because they use the milk that is produced by cows from their own farm. I also like to recommend my favorite ice cream flavors to them like mint chocolate and raspberry. I always feel proud of my school in my heart when I tell people how good the ice cream is in my school.

Husky Culture

Husky - As a symbol that can be seen everywhere at the University of Connecticut, he is also the mascot of this school. Husky represents luck and strength of spirit, and fosters a sense of belonging among students and the school. When students are called huskies, they will directly associate themselves with the University of Connecticut and feel proud of themselves.

I've met the school's current mascot Jonathan XIV a few times and Jonathan XV for one time. Jonathan XIV is a very handsome husky, and unlike other huskies I've met, Jonathan XIV looks more imposing, whereas the others look more naughty and cute just like Jonathan XV. I found on a school website about the reason why the mascots are all called Jonathan and how they became the mascot that “Jonathan the Husky is the mascot of the University of Connecticut. All of UConn’s huskies are named Jonathan in honor of Jonathan Trumbull, the last colonial and first state Governor of Connecticut. There are two versions of Jonathan: the costumed version and the canine version.All but the first real husky mascot, a brown and white dog, had been solid white with one brown eye and one blue eye, until 2013 when UCONN officially changed their logo to a black and white Husky. The newest Jonathan is Jonathan XIV, a black and white male introduced January 29, 2014. Jonathan is one of the few university mascots in the nation to have been selected by students via a popular poll (in 1933).”(cahnr.uconn.edu)

(Jonathan XV P1& Jonathan XIV P2,P3)

When I first became a student at the University of Connecticut, I didn't have much of a sense of belonging to the identity of a husky, I just thought that the designation was quite fun and that it might be a way for Americans to express their humor. And for that reason, I possessed a good feeling about this husky identity before I even met the school. When I arrived at the school, I saw that the school was filled with husky elements everywhere. There are Husky-patterned school logos, a gym with a big husky logo on it, a floor with a huge husky painted in the center of the school, and even an exclusive statue of a husky. I felt stunned that a school could love and embrace an animal so much. So I began to feel respect for huskies as an identity and felt like I belonged as part of the husky community.

The first time I met Jonathan, I was on my way to the library after class. I remember I wasn't in a very good mood at that time because I just did a presentation in class and it was not very good. As I was walking towards the library by myself, I saw a group of people standing around something and they seemed very excited. I was curious so I went over to join them. Then I saw a robust, fuzzy, black and white color very handsome husky. In fact, I had seen some huskies before and they were all cute or dorky, but this one was so much different. This husky was so handsome that made me feel like he had a sense of majesty, like a proud soldier. When I squatted down and started to pet his head, all my feelings of unhappiness and boredom in my heart suddenly disappeared at that moment. I knew it was this fluffy lad who had helped me make it. Then I realized that this husky must be the most famous masco at UConn, Jonathan XIV. I have to admit that he really does charm me. So I started to love this little mascot husky from the depths of my heart and also started to feel proud of my identity as a husky.

Work cited

Anonymous. “Jonathan the Husky | College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources.” Cahnr.uconn.edu, 3 Nov. 2015, cahnr.uconn.edu/person/jonthan-the-husky/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2023.

Anonymous. “UConn Dairy Bar | Dining Services.” Dining.uconn, 26 May 2020, dining.uconn.edu/uconn-dairy-bar/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2023.