A MICHIGAN PUBLIC COLLEGE STARTED OFFERING A UNICORN HUNTING LICENSE IN 1971
And here I thought I could be surprised by anything (and I mean, anything) a liberal arts college could include. But I was so totally wrong! But to be fair, I’ve never heard of Lake Superior State University, a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It seems that way back in 1971, the school started giving out its first iteration of what is now Unicorn Questing Licenses to its interested students. It even has a Department of Natural Unicorns as admin! But back in 1971, it was a Unicorn Hunting License. But for all those bloodthirsty NRA hunting enthusiasts, be aware this was never about bagging one of the mythical creatures.
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UNICORN HUNTING LICENSE IS NOW A UNICORN QUESTING LICENSE, JUST IN CASE SOMEONE FOUND ONE
This was, of course, originally a way to create fanfare and publicity for the school when it all started. The creators of the Department of Natural Unicorns, or DNU, was started by Bill Rabe, director of public relations, and English professors Peter Thomas, John McCabe, and John Stevens. Bill Rabe retired in 1987, and somehow the DNU not only persevered, it continued its frivolous pursuits to engage students. But it did remove hunting from the vernacular, and to this day still offers Licenses to Quest for unicorns. “Hunting” wasn’t really functional, and raised concerns about animal cruelty, magical and mundane.
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A UNICORN HUNTING LICENSE STILL SOUNDS LIKE GOOD FUN, BUT CAN NON-STUDENTS GET ONE?
But for students who want to be members, the requirements are pretty approachable. They include to pay no dues, attend no meetings, be nice to people and unicorns alike and a few regulations. The regulations are fantastically thematic, and forbid any unicorn hunting or questing when the tooth fairy is around, Santa Claus is near, and never on Valentine’s Day. And if you think this is all the silly the school can produce, they hosted a snowman burning on the first day of spring to bid winter adieu, and compiled an end-of-year tongue-in-cheek Banished Words List. You know, to make sure the phrases weren’t misused or overused.
But if this is your cup of tea, you might want to reach out to the DNU and see if you can be an honorary member.
