Throughout the country, colleges are associated with their mascots or symbols. Florida has the Gator, Notre Dame has the Fighting Irish, Pittsburgh has the Panther, and Yale has the Bulldog. Some are fierce while others are mighty. How, then, does Ohio’s Buckeye, a nut, fall in to the whole scheme of collegiate mascots?Long before the buckeye gained its status at Ohio State, it was used to refer to residents of Ohio in general.Dating back to 1788, the Indians in Marietta, Ohio referred to Col. Ebenezer Sproat, a delegate at the first Northwest Territory court session as “Hetuck,” the Indian word for buckeye. He proudly adopted the nickname and spread it to white settlers throughout the Ohio area.The presidential election of 1840 solidified the buckeye as a symbol of Ohio, explained Julie Petersen, a representative from OSU Archives. Candidate and Ohioan William Henry Harrison adopted the buckeye nut as his campaign symbol, wearing them around his neck and even turning them into a primitive campaign button to be worn by his supporters.”From that time on, buckeyes were associated so closely with Ohio that the state just adopted them as a statewide symbol,” Petersen said.It was not until October 2, 1953, that the Ohio Legislature officially adopted the buckeye tree as the official tree for the state of Ohio.It is unclear when OSU established the buckeye as its athletic symbol, Petersen said. It has been consistently used since 1920, and there is evidence of its attachment to OSU dating back to the turn of the century.”Ohio State officially adopted the Buckeye in 1950, but it was commonly used for several years before that,” Petersen said.The December 1930 issue of The Ohio State University Monthly reported long deliberations held by the Student Senate on the effectiveness of having the Buckeye as the school mascot.Edwin L. Schoenleb, 1930 editor of The Lantern wrote, “The name, ‘Buckeye’ does not indicate aggressiveness.”In the article, Varsity “O” cheerleader Herbert W. Decker suggested that a male sheep be adopted as the new OSU mascot, since Ohio was predominantly farmland. That idea, however, was shot down as were suggestions of a ram and a deer.After a few heated meetings on the topic, the Student Senate decided to continue using the name “Buckeyes” and to “let the question of a symbol ride for awhile.”After stewing for 20 years, it was officially adopted, and an artist designed the official Ohio State symbol.”In 1950, Milton Caniff, artist, cartoonist, and a 1930 graduate of OSU, designed a university emblem,” said Bertha L. Ihnat, an OSU archives assistant. “It is to be used wherever appropriate in connection with athletics.”In its pioneer beginnings, the bark of buckeye trees was used to make baby cradles and artificial limbs. Superstitious thinkers believe carrying a buckeye nut in your pocket will ward off bad luck. But, for the most part, the trees and their nuts are relatively impractical. The bark smells bad. The wood does not burn well and the nut is poisonous.But it is one stubborn tree. Buckeye trees grow in places where other trees cannot. It is difficult to kill and can adapt to many different weather conditions. To say the least, this tree is tenacious.