Petr the Anteatr’s Legacy
We know Peter the Anteater as our energetic and spirited campus mascot. He takes several forms: the original B.C. comic strip Peter, the jersey-cladded bipedal Peter, and more recently, Petr the Anteatr.
UCI has always prided itself in its unique mascot established in 1965. Peter served as a symbol of solidarity among students, but as the years pass, a new generation of Peter has evolved. Petr the Anteatr is a campuswide phenomenon. Beginning in September of 2018, an anonymous student initiated a revolutionary concept - free stickers for those with school spirit. However, this Petr was extremely simplified and well… resonated with students to the core.
As Petr’s popularity grew, so did his design range. The creator developed a series of designs that matched campus activity or holidays. One notable design is the UCI Men’s Basketball Petr. He represents the 2019 Big West Championship win, a memorable and groundbreaking turn of events for our university’s Men’s Basketball. By creating a physical embodiment of UCI student athletic pride, our campus’ culture climaxed. Petr’s presence on campus came in the form of mobs of students running to claim each sticker and even caught the attention of the authorities. It is not an understatement to say that thousands of students flocked campus. Petr stickers have been found on all surfaces on campus, and are a nice surprise to find!
After the creator of Petr graduated, us Anteaters were left with a tough decision. How could we move past such a highlight in our educational careers? The connectivity between students had never been so high, and our campus culture was on pause. Luckily, more spirited Anteaters took initiative and carried on Petr’s legacy by making new designs. You can find the new designs by searching Petr on Instagram where the majority of creators post their release dates.
Asking about Petr stickers is a common conversation starter. Students flaunt their collectables on water bottles, laptops and backpacks. I for one have three Petr stickers (all donated to me) on my laptop: a Bathing Ape Petr, Peppa the Pig Petr, and a King of the Hill Petr. The variations are endless! In fact, some organizations have fashioned their own representative Petrs. My organization, MIX (Multicultural Interracial Experience) has a specialized Petr holding multicultural foods and sporting a MIX t-shirt. The Petr phenomenon has truly swept over UCI, even managing to get the official UCI social media to follow prominent Petr pages.
Petr is the front-running culture icon at UCI. Students trade stickers or even buy them off of each other as memorabilia. One of my friends began collecting Petr stickers since its first launch, and now she has over 100! Petr truly is the modern UCI icon.
Photo courtesy of Chloe Davidson
Maelee is a third-year global cultures and international studies student. She hails from the suburbs of Los Angeles, CA but her heart is split between France and South Korea. In her free time she replays Skyrim and looks for new laptop stickers on Esty.
