When Brown University opened a new student union in 1904, Theodore Francis Green, an 1887 alum and member of the building committee, placed the head of a real brown bear above the arch that was the central feature of the trophy room. To explain his choice, Green said that the bear “is good natured and clean. While courageous and ready to fight, it does not look for trouble for its own sake, nor is it bloodthirsty. It is not one of a herd, but acts independently. It is intelligent and capable of being educated. It is a good swimmer and a good digger, like an athlete who makes Phi Beta Kappa. Furthermore its color is brown; and its name is Brown.”