This is the pelt of SpiRIT, which was preserved in 1967. Both students and faculty, including David Page, worked to ensure that the tiger’s legacy would be sustained after SpiRIT had to be put down due to untreatable medical issues.

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Although the pelt usually stays at its home in the school’s archive, the mascot still fosters a sense of student identity, particularly when incoming Freshmen are given the opportunity to view and experience the preserved SpiRIT of RIT during new student orientation. (Pelt not on view during the onsite exhibition in 2017-2018. Please contact the RIT Archives to view.)