Geese are often associated with NIU. These campus icons receive mentions on social media and the geese even have their own Twitter page, @NIUGeese. 

The popularity of geese was an entirely different story 25 years ago. 

From March to April, the Canadian geese can be territorial during nesting. 

With the geese droppings on sidewalks and their sometimes intimidating presence, the university pushed to get rid of the geese on campus. 

The University Campus Environmental Committee passed a motion to rid the campus of its domesticated geese, according to a Feb. 28, 1992 Northern Star article. 

Faculty, students and community members proposed ideas to get rid of these East Lagoon tenants. James Grosklags, then assistant chair of the biological sciences department, suggested the university kill the geese, dress them and donate them to the Salvation Army. A member of the University Campus Environmental Committee suggested that the geese be relocated with the help of the Student Committee for Animal Welfare. The NIU Grounds Department was catching the geese and storing them until they were able to relocate them, then university landscape architect Jim Murphy said. 

After the initial proposal to rid the campus of geese, children in the community protested. Ten-year old Theresa Roff asked community members to sign a petition to keep the geese at NIU, according to a March 2, 1992 Northern Star article.  

With the current goose climate on campus, it is safe to say the university kept their unofficial mascots close to the lagoon and close to our hearts.