Fear the Goat: Hopkins Mascot Joins Campus

The statue was gifted to the school by the Class of 2017. Class President Sanaea Bhagwagar ’17 explained: “Our class wanted to come up with something that encapsulated the spirit of Hopkins while also being both tangible yet also symbolic — and what better than a bronze statue of our school mascot!” During the brainstorming process, Bhagwagar and her classmates noted the importance of a mascot for generating school pride. Bhagwagar stated, “We noticed many other schools had physical representations of their mascots and truly rallied around a central theme and mascot. Thus began our idea to donate a class gift that could unify the Hopkins community and showcase the spirit of the school for many years to come.” 

To ensure that they would follow through on their plan, Bhagwagar said, members of the Class of 2017 made sure that the logistics were “figured out before [they] graduated.” According to Bhagwagar, this process included “researching architects to try to figure out the various steps associated with designing, constructing, and implementing a physical entity onto the campus,” which, Bhagwagar added, was “easier said than done.” Bhagwagar and members of her graduating class were aided by members of the Hopkins faculty, including Dean of Faculty Dr. D’Angelo, Assistant Head of School Mr. Roberts, and Director of Development Lauren Reichart. Their “creative vision, passion, and dedication was certainly instrumental to finally making the gift become a reality in time for the Class of 2017’s five-year alumni reunion,” said Bhagwagar.

Students are starting to appreciate the addition of the goat statue to life at Hopkins. On the benefits of the goat’s presence, Anika Madan ’24 said, “I think it adds some color and personality to our campus.” Maggie Russell ’25 noted the amusement seeing the statue brings, saying, “Walking into the AC everyday and seeing a literal statue of a goat is not only hilarious, but brings us closer as a community. The goat definitely provides Hopkins with school spirit and gives us all a little early morning laugh to put us in good humor.” 

Already, traditions surrounding the goat are developing, including one introduced by Roberts, in which students rub the goat’s snout for good luck in advance of games, tests, and everything in between. Roberts also urged use of the slogan “Fear the goat!” to kindle school spirit — which, as Madan puts it, represents the Hopkins Community’s “collective grit and determination.”