white symbolizes the goodness and purity of spirit embodied in helping one's fellow man.
Cougar Red Friday is part of the ongoing Keep Houston Red initiative at the University of Houston. Students and staff are encouraged to wear red shirts on Friday to show pride for the university.
The school's official mascot is a cougar, which was adopted in 1947 and later named Shasta. The university owned a series of female cougars, but this tradition ceased in 1989, upon the death of Shasta V. When a cougar cub was orphaned in Washington State and moved to the Houston Zoo in 2011, the university adopted it as its first live male cougar mascot and he was named Shasta VI. Shasta VI died in August 2022 from a progressive spinal disease. In November of the same year, the Houston Zoo received two orphaned male cubs from Washington State Fish & Wildlife Services and decided the cubs would carry the long-standing tradition of representing the University of Houston as Shasta VII and Louie.
The Frontiersmen—initially exclusive …
