By Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27

Editor-in-Chief

For many years, Unofficial LITS Mascot Jorge starred in new students’ introduction to LITS: The Great Goose Chase Scavenger Hunt. During the game — which took place during both fall and spring Orientation — students were encouraged to “solve puzzles and find clues” to locate Jorge “before he gets into TOO much trouble,” according to the event listing on Embark.

Following the real goose’s death in December 2024, Jorge continued to appear in spirit on LITS’ website, Instagram, and the spring 2025 scavenger hunt. However, in the days leading up to this semester’s Orientation, posts featuring squirrels began appearing on LITS’ Instagram. Then, on Aug. 29, LITS hosted the Mean Squirrels Scavenger Hunt. The new game was functionally similar to the Great Goose Chase, but saw Jorge replaced with a squirrel some have dubbed "Regina Forage,” according to LITS.

Mount Holyoke News interviewed some students about their thoughts on Jorge, Regina Forage and the title of LITS’ unofficial mascot.

“Now that Jorge is gone, campus does feel different,” Sophia Virgadamo ’27 said in a text interview with Mount Holyoke News. “A little bit of that mystical whimsy is gone which I will miss but never forget … Jorge was a beautiful icon and should remain the mascot as to honor his memory.”

Saturn Barnes ’27 has also been impacted by Jorge’s death. “[Jorge] was such a core part of my memories on this campus … I still get sad when I see the Canada geese without him,” Barnes said. “I totally get why they had to replace Jorge, and the squirrels are cute, but it doesn’t really feel unique to us.”

In an email to Mount Holyoke News, LITS wrote, “The squirrel … is, for now, only a character in our new student orientation Mean Squirrels scavenger hunt.” While Regina Forage has featured prominently in LITS’ branding this year, Jorge remains LITS’ unofficial mascot.

“If there was ever to be a new unofficial mascot, we think it should grow organically out of the love of the MHC community like Jorge did,” LITS further clarified.

“I definitely miss his presence,” Barnes spoke about Jorge’s lasting influence on the College. “I feel like he could be a new campus myth or legend.”

For some students, Jorge has already ascended to the status of campus legend. Virgadamo and their friends decided to research Jorge’s history after his death: “After his passing my friends and [I] became even more dedicated to uncovering the truth to Jorge's lore, this culminated in a … visit to the archives where we discovered that according to school records Jorge has been the same goose for the past … 30 years.”

“In his death he may live on, every time we need help with the two factor authentication or some phishing scam gets into our emails,” Virgadamo concluded.

Madeleine Diesl ’28 contributed fact checking.