The Marvelous Mr. Dooley

Hey there, fantastic readers! I hope everyone’s had an awesome past month, and it’s rolling into an even cooler one. It’s your favorite author, Javian Rojas, back with another blog post, and this time, we’re diving into the world of all things Dooley. Halloween’s just around the corner, so what better time to chat about our old pal, Mr. Dooley?

Our beloved unofficial mascot, Dooley the Skeleton, is the pride and joy of many Emory students. Once spring starts to pick up, so do our Dooley celebrations, which we call Dooley’s Week. This is a longstanding tradition for students, where they enjoy a week full of food, activities, and fun, culminating in a concert dubbed Dooleypalooza. This past year’s event started on March 26 and ran through April 1. The 2023 theme was “The Dooleys,” each day representing a different award show, from the Oscars to the Met Gala. At Dooleypalooza, we got to end the amazing week with a childhood favorite of many college students, Flo Rida! Before we had the “Dooley’s Week” that we all know and love today, there was something called “Dooley’s Frolics” in 1941.

Buckle up for a quick history lesson!  Our lovable Lord of Misrule made his first on-campus appearance during Dooley’s Frolics Week after picking up some fame from being featured in a gossip column. In the 1950s, some pesky Yellow

Jackets (Georgia Tech students) pulled a prank and kidnapped him. It’s a bummer because they broke six of Dooley’s ribs out of spite. That’s why, these days, Dooley always has a bunch of bodyguards. These brave seniors in black are his protectors, keeping his identity under wraps, speaking on his behalf, and ensuring he doesn’t get nabbed again.

My favorite part of Dooley and his entire week is his power to dismiss classes. He can barge into classrooms and hit the professors with tricky Emory trivia questions. They’re the kind of questions even the smartest professors get wrong, and when that happens, class is outta there! Imagine being asked how many bricks there are in Asbury Circle.

Last spring, during Dooley’s Week, the Student Programming Council had this wild idea to get giant skeletons over 10 feet tall. Picture this: I’m leaving the library after a marathon study session, and right in the middle of Asbury Circle, there’s a massive 10-foot skeleton just staring me down. I’ve never jumped so high in my life. But that’s how much Dooley means to us around here. He also attends many other events, like the Carter Town Hall Meeting, the Coke Toast, and Songfest.

One of the reasons students love Dooley so much is that he reminds us to enjoy the little things in life, especially amid all the studying. Just walking around campus and spotting a student in a skeleton costume, flanked by four serious-looking bodyguards on a random Tuesday, is a reminder that not everything has to be super serious all the time at a place like Emory. Here, we study hard but can also take a minute to appreciate a random 10-foot skeleton chilling outside the Dobbs Common Table.

So, here’s to a fun and lighthearted journey through the world of Dooley! Enjoy the ride, folks.