By Ashlyn Beck | Staff Writer
After two months of Judge Indy and Judge Belle officially being home at Baylor, the new cubs will debut at their first homecoming this year.
Keller graduate student Griffin Hunt, who serves as the support coordinator for the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat, said Indy and Belle are undergoing special training in preparation.
“It’s a very new path that none of us have been on,” Hunt said. “We’re all just kind of figuring it out as we go along because they’re so very popular already. Homecoming brings thousands and thousands of people, and we know everybody is going to want to see the bears.”
Hunt said the trainers are utilizing the on-campus habitat and off-campus facilities in preparation, which includes cleaning the habitat, allowing the cubs to build up energy by playing and getting the cubs used to more human interaction.
“We just want to get them used to being around humans as much as possible, and we want to get them used to … a lot of foot traffic,” Hunt said.
Dakota Farquhar-Caddell, associate director of student activities and director of the Baylor Chamber of Commerce, said homecoming brings people of all ages from all over the country together to celebrate the university, and this year will be no exception.
“We always have bustling crowds — lots of [people] of all ages, from 2 months old to 90 years old,” Farquhar-Caddell said. “We have people come in and want to see the bears.”
Farquhar-Caddell said the cubs have already driven more crowds to the habitat, and he expects homecoming to draw even more.
“Having cubs on campus has reinvigorated a lot of the habitat’s traffic and has certainly drawn huge crowds, mainly because they’re so active and little and cute and fun to watch,” Farquhar-Caddell said. “And so people love to come see them and watch them grow.”
Farquhar-Caddell said Indy and Belle are predisposed to human interaction, so events like Meet the Cubs and homecoming only energize and excite them.
“They love it,” he said. “They love that kind of energy. They love the attention, and they love the interaction — even through a fence.”
Farquhar-Caddell said the excitement of Indy and Belle’s first experience reflects the culture and joy already surrounding homecoming.
“I love Friday evening, when Baylor families from all across the country roll into town,” Farquhar-Caddell said. “The air is just a buzz of excitement. There’s kids up on parents’ shoulders and music and people eating good food, just celebrating company and what it means to be a part of the Baylor family.”
Hunt said the tradition of the bears plays a big role in bringing the Baylor family together.
“It’s just really cool, especially [during] homecoming when we see multi-generations of the Baylor family come and still engage with the bears,” Hunt said. “It’s still something that they think is really cool and [they] hold near and dear to their heart.”
However, Hunt said this year’s homecoming is particularly special because it is the inaugural homecoming for Indy and Belle, who are the first cubs in two decades to call Baylor home.
“I think it’s so very cool to have this opportunity,” Hunt said. “We haven’t had cubs in 20 years. We’ve had bears on campus for over 100 years. It’s one of the coolest traditions across the country.”
