NIC gets squirrely

Lucky Malone wakes up every morning, climbs down from her abode, and scurries over to the writing center for a free breakfast. Like many students, she is very busy, rushing around to survive the season.

Unlike many students, her day consists of gathering food, burying it for the winter and keeping others away from her home.

If you haven’t realized already, Lucky is a squirrel. She has lived in one of the large trees next to the writing center for the past 6 or 7 years, and has developed an unusually close relationship with the writing center employees and occasional students.

Last year one of the effects of the dike road construction was more squirrels being pushed on campus where the other squirrels resided, which resulted in a squirrel turf war.

“Most squirrels know that she’s no one to mess with,” Holly Rock said, who works at the writing center and refers to Lucky as a thug. “No other squirrel would try to go up her tree, never.”

Apparently many other students have noticed Lucky and the seemingly higher presence of squirrels on campus, and NIC’s photography instructor Jessica Raetzke has noticed an increase in squirrel photography.

Several students have also been seen taking a seat in the grass near the writing center and feeding squirrels that dare to come close enough.

NIC student Robert Wolcott, general studies, 18, is one of several students who have noticed Lucky’s extraordinary social skills, and how she differs from the other squirrels. “I’ve actually seen people walk up to just a couple steps away from her, and I have seen people feed her even though I’ve never fed her myself. She’ll come right up and take food from them.”

The question is, whether Lucky is actually making friends for the company, or using people for their food gifts, or possibly both.

Holly Rock would object, she has developed a close friendship with Lucky since she started working at the writing center four years ago. She said last spring semester she would park on the dike road, and Lucky would meet her there and walk in with her every morning. “This semester she is friendlier to everybody than she ever has been, I don’t know why she’s come around so much.”

She is currently working on teaching Lucky to high five, and Lucky scurries up tentatively to her hand and scurries away. Of course Lucky would never perform when someone else is watching.

It is also legend that Lucky hangs out with the writing center employees after hours and will actually climb up a former employee to ride on their shoulder.

Students have been seen walking up to the writing center while Lucky is eating her breakfast, and they stare oddly at her as she doesn’t move the closer they get. Instead she continues to eat, unphazed, and doesn’t scurry away like normal squirrels do.

Other students on their way to class stop to stare and giggle as the squirrel stands up on her legs, presses her paws against the front doors and peers inside the writing center peculiarly like a human.

In the meantime, Lucky will continue to gain popularity on campus, flirtatiously flitting her tail and cozying up to students for food to fatten up for the winter. She remains an Instagram star, student essay topic, curiosity, mother and campus critter favorite.

Cecil the Cardinal better watch out, it sounds like Lucky is giving him a run for his money.