Ody Appearances

Guidelines

• All Ody Owl appearances will be coordinated through Campus Recreation.
• The Ody Owl mascot uniform is not available for loan or rental. Only trained student mascot employees are authorized to appear at events in uniform.
• The length of the mascot’s entire appearance, from the time Ody arrives on site until Ody leaves, should be less than one hour. Ody Owl should be in costume for a maximum of 30 minutes to avoid overheating. Events requiring more time will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and may require additional student staffing and scheduling adjustments.
• Ody Owl has limited visibility and does not speak while in uniform so Ody will be accompanied by a handler at each event.
• Community and corporate requests for Ody Owl will incur a $50.00 booking fee plus mileage when appearances are outside of Columbus, Mississippi. The cost of the appearance must be paid in advance.
• Ody Owl should not be used to endorse particular candidates for office or promote items for purchase.
• A cleaning and/or repair fee will be charged to the organization if damage is done during the appearance.
• The requesting organization will need to be aware of how people are treating Ody for the protection of the person and the uniform.
• Any mascot reserves the right to remove him/herself from any event or situation that is deemed unsafe or harmful.

Arranging an Ody Owl Appearance

Requesting Ody

• Requests must be made through the online form.
• Preferably, requests for appearances should be made 1 month before the event.
• Once submitted, the requesting party will be contacted by our office.

Event Requirements

• For off-campus events, the event host must provide a private changing area which can be locked so that personal belongings and equipment can be stored during the performance.
• The events hosts should provide parking for the mascot staff, if applicable.

Mascot Availability

• Availability will depend upon the nature, location, and time of the event as well as previous commitments of Ody Owl.
• After working to schedule the requested event, with consideration to academic and personal schedules of the student staff, the office will contact the group/event contact person.
• As the mascot is a student- staffed position, availability during mid-terms and finals will be limited.
• Priority will be given to official university events.
• Events such as individual birthday parties will not be considered. 

After Mascot Confirmation

• An office representative will contact the event contact person to discuss the event in more detail.
• If Ody Owl has been confirmed and there is a change in date and/or time, we cannot guarantee the ability to accommodate the change. If changes occur, please contact Campus Recreation as soon as possible.
• If, for any reason, Ody Owl must cancel an appearance, a representative from Campus Recreation will notify the group/event contact person immediately and make every effort to provide an alternative appearance.