White Owl, or the eccentric quasi-mascot who is often outside Wescoe Hall preaching and dancing, said the University threatened to ban him from coming onto campus and attending sporting events, but that may not be the case.

Jill Jess, associate director for news and media relations for the University, laughed when asked about the incident and said there was no record of White Owl being banned from any department.

White Owl is known for his long hair, beard and appearing on ESPN. For a while, White Owl was a star. He was on television and Big Jay dressed up like him at football games. White Owl was a second mascot for the University for a time, but isn’t anymore, Anna Toren, Shawnee junior, said.

White Owl said he came to the University to study Agent Orange, a powerful herbicide used in the Vietnam War, and its effects on veterans. He said he didn’t come here to become famous.

“I didn’t understand my fame, but I loved it,” White Owl said. “I never asked anybody to interview me; I never sought this at all.”

Erina McKinney, Topeka junior, said White Owl was a bystander to his fame.

“It’s not a question of whether he deserves it or not — he gets it,” McKinney said.

White Owl said the story of his banning started in the spring of 2008. He said a woman talked with him in the Jazzhaus, a venue located at 926 Massachusetts St., who said she worked for the University’s administration. White Owl said that the woman told him KU administration “absolutely hated” him, but that she didn’t tell him her name.

Because of this conversation, White Owl said, he took seriously two people who told him on Facebook that he was going to be banned from the University and berated him with various insults a few weeks ago. White Owl said the people’s names couldn’t be found on Facebook after their conversations with him. White Owl said he started crying when he received the messages.

“My whole world collapsed,” he said.

White Owl said he went to campus alone around midnight last Monday. He said he sat outside Wescoe Hall, praying to God that he hadn’t been banned.

White Owl said a police officer came and talked with him and confirmed his suspicions. White Owl said the police officer warned him not to come to University events or on campus because he would be arrested.

Captain Schuyler Bailey of the Public Safety Office said there was no record of this happening.

White Owl said he left the University that night and began driving with the idea of fleeing to California. When he got past Topeka, he said, he heard God tell him to turn around.

White Owl said he has been on campus since the midnight incident to visit Curtis Marsh, program director of KU Info, whom he sees on a regular basis. Marsh said he was skeptical that White Owl was telling the truth.

“I would be surprised if the administration would say an individual would no longer be allowed to step foot on campus,” Marsh said.

Derek Martin, Prairie Village sophomore, said White Owl might think he had been “figuratively” banned from the University.

Alex Bowman, Medicine Lodge junior, said White Owl was an asset to the University and shouldn’t be banned.

“He encourages people to be academically successful,” Bowman said. “Everyone I’ve seen talk to, he’s been nothing but friendly and encouraging.”

Lauren Ashman, St. Louis, Mo., junior, also said that White Owl should not be banned from the University.

“I think people only see him from afar,” Ashman said. “If you actually go up and talk to him, he’s a nice person.”

When the fall semester starts, White Owl said, he will go back on campus with joy and scream between classes, as per police recommendation, and said he would buy season tickets so he could go to every University game. He said he was going to try to get a student ID so he could buy tickets in the student section.

“I’d rather be out amongst the students than on TV.”

— ­— Edited by Hannah DeClerk