How did the nation’s largest, Catholic university become a group of blue-tinted demons? To celebrate DePaul’s inaugural Blue Demon Day, Special Collections & Archives takes a quick look at the history and stories surrounding our lovable, and unlikely, mascot.

Demons on the playing field are always on the level,
Demons on the fighting field can fight to beat the devil!
Excerpted from “DePaul Demons;” Fred Waring and Charles Gaynor, copyright 1942

While there is nothing to show whether this fight song ever caught on, it does reflect the playful attitude our Catholic and Vincentian institution has traditionally taken toward its “demonic” association. Perhaps that’s because the origin, as one alumnus put it, “was not satanic, but phonetic.”

First known as St. Vincent’s College, our earliest athletic uniforms sported monograms and designs incorporating our initials: “SVC.” These designs were replaced with a commanding “D” after St. Vincent’s became DePaul University in 1907. It was a short, though slightly mysterious, path from “D-Men” to “Demons.”

Some sources credit an unnamed journalist with first using “D-Men” around 1922 , and one alumnus has claimed credit for the moniker, explaining he used “D-Men” as manager of DePaul sports teams in the early 1920s.  Athletic coverage in early editions of The DePaulia student newspaper frequently refer to our players as the “Red and Blue,” on account of our school colors, with “Demons” becoming common in the mid-1920s. But it must have taken a little while for the “Demon” designation to overtake the competition: DePaulia articles in 1924 and 1925 use a mix of D-Men, Demons, and even Blue Devils – sometimes within the same edition of the paper.

Depictions of the Blue Demon run the gamut from fuzzy to fierce. The fiend we know today had his well-received debut in 1999, replacing the impish Billy Blue Demon. While some have been critical of our mascot – claiming he’s an inappropriate symbol for a Catholic university  – our Demon continues to be a fan-favorite. After 90 years, he’s also the only figure in DePaul Athletics to outlast Ray Meyer. Go Demons!

Want to learn more about Blue Demons past? Visit DePaul’s Special Collections & Archives, Room 314 of the Richardson Library, or email us at archives@depaul.edu

Special Collections and Archives has acquired several new items that reveal what life is like on the coldest continent (Chicago in January?), and celebrate the intrepid spirit of Antarctic researcher, Mary Alice McWhinnie. A “Double Demon” and long-time DPU faculty member, McWhinnie made a number of trips to Antarctica, and is renowned for her research on the tiny, shrimp-like krill. In 1974, she and Sister Mary Odile Cahoon broke ground as the first women to “over-winter” in Antarctica, spending much of the year in McMurdo Sound. Special Collections’ recent acquisitions include scientific notes and communications from that 1974 trip, as well as Ernest Shackleton’s two-volume The Heart of the Antarctic, and The South Polar Times.

DePaul had a small collection of McWhinnie’s papers when alumnus Dennis Schenborn, former McWhinnie student and member of her 1974 research team, donated additional photographs, notes, and communications documenting their scientific work, close quarters, and daily life in a cold place. Long, cold months away from home had inspired another crew in 1902 to create The South Polar Times, “for the sole edification of our small company of explorers in the ‘Discovery,’ then held fast in the Antarctic ice.” The Times was produced regularly during their stint in Antarctica, and published when the crew returned to civilization. A four-volume inside-joke, its creators knew the rest of the world might not understand all of its illustrations, humor, and stories, but opted not to enlighten us, feeling “how much would still be missed, and how impossible it is to explain the spirit of our comradeship, or the great intimacy…it would be cruel to dissect our Polar jokes.”

Even without explanation, The Times is a testament to the mental fortitude of its creators, and the hardships they endured for months in an inhospitable land. Shackleton’s The Heart of the Antarctic offers an equally stark view of life there, noting, “We brought back with us from the journey towards the Pole vivid memories of how it feels to be intensely, fiercely hungry. During the period November 15, 1908 to February 23, 1909, we had but one full meal.” The same volume includes reflections on “semi-raw” horse-meat breakfasts, strategies for fairly dividing food rations, and whether you can indeed convince yourself that half a biscuit is more than half a biscuit.

Find out more about these remarkable journeys, and people, in DePaul’s Special Collections and Archives Department; Richardson Library, Room 314. Open to all members of the DePaul community and the public, M-F; 9am-5pm. Questions? Email us at: archives@depaul.edu

Do you know of a campus haunting? Heard or seen things you can't explain? DePaul Special Collections and Archives wants your stories!

Join us in Richardson Library, room 314, on Halloween, Wednesday October 31, from 10am-7pm and we will record you telling your own spooky DePaul story. All students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to share their tales.

Can't make it in person? We won't have the recording equipment after Halloween but you can email your spooky DePaul tale to archives@depaul.edu. Don't forget to include the DePaul connection, as well as campus locations and dates. Stories about the Loop, Lincoln Park, Barat, or any other DePaul location are welcome!

Happy 100th!
DePaul’s School of Music is one of several celebrating its 100th anniversary this academic year. To mark the occasion, they have partnered with University Archives in creating a new exhibit: A Day in the Life of the Music School…Through the Years.

From masterclasses to Glee Club and learning the technology of sound recording, the exhibit features photographs and memorabilia that highlight the student experience in the School of Music. This history will be celebrated throughout the year with a variety of programs and events. Stay on top of the celebrations, and other Music School happenings, by visiting the School’s News & Events site.

See the exhibit
Where: 1st floor of the John T. Richardson Library, 2350 N Kenmore; Chicago, IL 60614
When: Through Spring 2013.  

DePaul's University Archives has unveiled a fresh exhibit to celebrate the opening of the new College of Science and Health. From Halley's Comet to the Bottom of the World highlights the fun, the strange, and the remarkable events and people in DePaul's scientific past.
Did you know that the first women to spend an entire winter in Antarctica were from DePaul? DePaul alumna and faculty member Mary Alice McWhinnie was internationally renowned for her work with krill, a tiny crustacean that flourishes in the Antarctic waters. She and her research assistant, Sister Mary Odile Cahoon, spent much of 1974 at an isolated research station on McMurdo Sound, studying the life cycle of krill. Professor McWhinnie left behind a rich record of her experience there, beyond her scientific publications, in the lengthy letters she wrote to friends and family during that 1974 trip.

The new exhibit features excerpts from these detailed and often humorous letters, as well as photos of McWhinnie's time in Antarctica. You'll also see a scientific paper she co-authored with some of her DePaul colleagues, including one who would attain his own distinction as DePaul's 8th president. The Very Reverend John T. Cortelyou C.M. was a member of the faculty and chair of the Biology Department before taking the top office. Father Cortelyou remains the only DePaul president to have received an advanced degree in the sciences, although he is not the only notable priest-scientist in DePaul history.

The Reverend Daniel McHugh, C.M., who taught astronomy and other sciences at DePaul, gained national attention for claiming to be the first person in Chicago to observe Halley's Comet in November of 1909. The sighting, made from the observatory atop Byrne Hall, incited controversy, and Fr. McHugh received many letters disputing the possibility of his claim. Despite the controversy, Fr. McHugh spoke widely on the Comet in Chicago, in part to put people at ease about the strange and infrequent sight in the sky.

See letters from some of Fr. McHugh's doubters alongside artifacts documenting Father Cortleyou's and Dr. McWhinnie's contributions to science at DePaul, and don't miss the exhibit's timeline of milestones and quirky mom ents in science at DePaul.

Where and When: See the exhibit on the 1st floor of Richardson Library; on display during Winter and Spring Quarters 2012.

For more information about the science or scientists featured in the exhibit:  Email us or stop by Richardson 314. Browse McWhinnie and Cortelyou's scientific papers, and see the original letters challenging Fr. McHugh's claim to the Halley's Comet sighting.

Can't make the exhibit?  Watch this Two-Minute Tour and see other unique resources in the Special Collections and Archives Department!   

Unwind the Mind – Faculty give your brain a break with DePaul University Libraries' newest collection.

DePaul's Loop and Lincoln Park libraries are unveiling a new recreational reading collection called "Unwind the Mind," where you'll find contemporary fiction, popular non-fiction and best sellers. 

The "Unwind the Mind: Popular Reading Collection" will help DePaul Libraries meet increasing student demand for leisure reading materials to supplement our academic collections.   Because we want to keep the collection current, we're using a rental service that will enable us to rotate out items to keep things fresh.  The collection will be available on the main floors of the Loop and Lincoln Park libraries until the end of the academic year as trial-run – come in and check it out! 

The collection features non-fiction books such as Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Shiny Objects: Why We Spend Money We don't Have in Search of Happiness We Can't Buy, And Nothing But the Truthiness: The Rise (and Further Rise) of Stephen Colbert, Outliers, The Chicago Homegrown Cookbook, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual, The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems and Life on the Line: A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death and Redefining the Way We Eat.  Fiction titles include The Marriage Plot, The Leftovers, Caleb's Crossing, and Heart of the Matter. Click here for a full list of titles.

Unwind the Mind – Give your brain a break with DePaul University Libraries' newest collection.

DePaul's Loop and Lincoln Park libraries are unveiling a new recreational reading collection called "Unwind the Mind," where you'll find contemporary fiction, popular non-fiction and best sellers. 

The "Unwind the Mind: Popular Reading Collection" will help DePaul Libraries meet increasing student demand for leisure reading materials to supplement our academic collections.   Because we want to keep the collection current, we're using a rental service that will enable us to rotate out items to keep things fresh.  The collection will be available on the main floors of the Loop and Lincoln Park libraries until the end of the academic year as trial-run – come in and check it out! 

The collection features non-fiction books such as Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Shiny Objects: Why We Spend Money We don't Have in Search of Happiness We Can't Buy, And Nothing But the Truthiness: The Rise (and Further Rise) of Stephen Colbert, Outliers, The Chicago Homegrown Cookbook, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual, The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life's Most Difficult Problems and Life on the Line: A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death and Redefining the Way We Eat.  Fiction titles include The Marriage Plot, The Leftovers, Caleb's Crossing, and Heart of the Matter. Click here for a full list of titles.

How do college students spend their time and money?  What's on their minds?  See how advertisers have tried to answer those questions in University Archives' newest exhibit: "Please Patronize Those Who Patronize Us: Advertising Student Life in The DePaulia," now on display in Richardson Library.  The exhibit features advertisements that have appeared in the pages of The DePaulia, and highlights perceptions of the college experience – as reflected in the ads themselves.  The title was taken from a short blurb that appeared periodically in the paper, encouraging DePaul students to spend their money on the products and businesses advertised there.

Themes like sex and dating were common, and used in advertisements that attempted to sell college students everything from caffeine supplements to cigarettes.  Other ads tapped into social trends or current events.  Items in the exhibit illustrate the evolution from military-themed advertisements during World War II, to ads that draw on the social unrest of the 1960s.  Local businesses often tailored their ads specifically to DePaul students, promoting their proximity to campus and the chance of meeting with other DePaul students.  The exhibit also features historical images of DePaul students and University artifacts – come see which popular DePaul personality had his face immortalized on a can of Old Style!

Where and When: See the exhibit on the 1st floor of Richardson Library; on display during Autumn Quarter 2011.

Like the exhibit and want even more DePaulia?  Email us or stop by Richardson 314 to see original copies of the paper going back to the 1920's.  Watch this blog for more information about when historical issues of The DePaulia will be available online!

Can't make the exhibit?  Watch this Two-Minute Tour and see other unique resources in the Special Collections and Archives Department!