Freshman Kari Stevenson moved to Indiana in 1996, but she refuses to consider herself a Hoosier. In her mind, the word conjures up countless negative images. \n"A Hoosier implies a low level of education, perhaps not even completion of high school, let alone college," Stevenson said. "I would be insulted to be referred to as a Hoosier."\nAlthough some people like Stevenson despise the negative connotations of "Hoosier," since the 1830s Indiana residents have adopted the nickname for themselves.\nAs IU's nickname/pseudo-mascot, "Hoosier" has stirred up numerous debates throughout history. The word holds the key to both aggravation and enthrallment. \nA myriad of myths surround the origin of the bizarre word. From legends to linguistics, historians have struggled to decipher the expression.\n"I'm fascinated by the term, less for where it came from than for its power in describing a fiercely independent state spirit," said Eric Sandweiss, IU history professor and editor of Indiana Magazine of History. \nAlthough many of the "Hoosier" theories have transformed into interesting folk tales rather than reliable historical explanations, they continue to fascinate -- and frustrate -- people across the United States.\n"I must say Indiana really got the shaft when it comes to naming its residents," sophomore Brian Matzke said. "We're not like Ohioans or New Yorkers, who can just modify the name of their state, and we don't have a cool mascot. Somehow we got stuck with this dumb-sounding non-word. Because the word is just so stupid sounding, I think it usually conjures up the lowest images conceivable that are associated with Indiana: ultra-conservative, gun-toting, ultra-Christian, bigoted and ignorant."\nOften lauded as one of the most distinct, yet ambiguous state nicknames, "Hoosier" carries nearly as much name recognition as "Yankee," according to the Indiana Historical Bureau. \nWhile some neighboring states boast concrete nicknames, such as Ohio's "Buckeye," the notorious "Hoosier" continues to remain popular.
\nHoosier hypotheses\nNo one seems to know for certain how and when "Hoosier" originated. \nGeorge R. Hanlin, assistant editor at the Indiana Historical Society and IDS alum, said one of the most common, yet difficult questions to answer is "What's a Hoosier?"\n"Being a Hoosier means different things to different people, and it's increasingly hard to define the term as Indiana diversifies," Hanlin said.\nA number of different theories -- some legend, some fact, some a concoction of both -- have attempted to describe how a Hoosier became associated with Indiana. \nFormer Indiana governor Joseph Wright, who served in the mid-1800s, offered his own odd theory, according to the Indiana Historical Bureau. He claimed "Hoosier" was derived from "hoosa," an Indian word for corn.\nIndiana men carrying hoosa to other parts of the nation were called "hoosa men." But in their linguistic studies of Indian words, historians could not find a word "hoosa" that meant corn.\nIn the 1990s, speculation surrounded Harry Hoosier, an African-American traveling Methodist preacher, according to the Indiana Magazine of History. But Hoosier died in 1806, years before the term gained national recognition. Hoosier was also illiterate, so historians disagree over the exact spelling of his name. \nRonald L. Baker, author of Hoosier Folk Legends, suggested the following, more widely accepted hypotheses:\n• Pioneer settlers in Indiana would answer a visitor's knock by hollering, "Who's yere?" This slang phrase eventually became transformed into today's adaptation of "Hoosier." (No one knows why this practice was more common in Indiana than in Illinois and Ohio, according to the Indiana Historical Bureau.) \n• Early Indiana residents had a crude habit of viciously fighting with each other. During these brawls, they would often bite off each others noses and ears. After the fight, someone who saw an ear on the floor would ask, "Whose ear?" These evening scuffles were apparently quite common in Indiana's pioneer days. \n• Settlers usually knew each other so well, when they tried to figure out the parent of a child,\nthey would ask, "Who's your daddy?"\n• Indiana men working on Ohio River flatboats regarded as well-known fighters became known as Hoosiers because they fought like European soldiers or "hushers."\n• "Hoose" was a local word for roundworms, "a disease that causes cattle's hair to turn back and gives their eyes a wild look, as Indiana frontiersmen in their coonskin caps appeared to others."\n• A canal contractor named Hoosier preferred to hire Indiana workers, so his workers were branded with the title of "Hoosier's men." Eventually this nickname was extended to all Indiana residents.
"An awkward, unhandy, or unskilled person"\nThe most plausible explanation for the origin of "Hoosier" comes from a linguistic analysis by Indiana historian Jacob Piatt Dunn Jr.\nDunn noticed widespread use of "Hoosier" in the southeastern United States meant "woodsmen" or "rough hill people." \n"Hoosier" also can be traced back to "hoozer" in the Cumberland dialect of Old English. Hoozer derives from the word "hoo," meaning "high" or "hill." Therefore, someone who lives in the hills would be identified as a hill dweller. \nInadvertently, Hoosier began to signify other negative characteristics associated with hill dwellers, such as roughness or crudeness. Hanlin of the Indiana Historical Society said Dunn's theory stands as the most credible explanation for the meaning of "Hoosier." \n"This makes sense, as Indiana was first settled by people from the hills of the upland south," Hanlin said. \nIt also could clarify why some people in the South use "Hoosier" as a generic synonym for "hillbilly" or "white trash," he said.\nIn fact, in Webster's Third International Dictionary, Hoosier is defined as "an awkward, unhandy, or unskilled person, especially an ignorant rustic."\nAlthough the origin of the word Hoosier continues to intrigue folklorists, the question of how this word became attached to Indiana seems less ambiguous. John Finley's poem "The Hoosier's Nest," which appeared Jan. 1, 1833, in the Indianapolis Journal, popularized the word's usage. \nNewspapers across the country reprinted Finley's poem as an example of "frontier poetry," according to an article by IU East history professor George Blakey. \n"The poet took an amorphous term and gave it common currency," Blakey wrote.
Mystery mascot\nBecause IU shares its nickname with the state of Indiana, the University's sports teams have been referred to as Hoosiers. Despite a frustrating search for a mascot, IU has kept its Hoosier moniker throughout decades.\nIU's mascot history is a tale of humor and neglect. The University has had several mascots, beginning with a white collie in 1935, according to previous IDS articles. In 1952, IU school spirit was embodied in The Hoosier Schoolmaster, a novel about a fictional teacher in an early Indiana community. In the 1960s, bison and a bulldog named "Ox" represented short-lived, but memorable mascots.\nIn 1979, IU adopted Hoosier Pride, a hillbilly. Pride's "hickish" stature symbolized the dictionary definition of a Hoosier. But public disdain caused Pride's premature death, according to IDS records. Within a year IU no longer had a mascot. \nIn the early 1980s, the Student Athletic Board held a futile contest to find a new mascot. Finalists included a dragon, a red rooster, a gargoyle, a Tazmanian Devil look-alike and a cartoon character called "Henry Hoosier."\nBut the administration didn't choose any of the finalists as a mascot. \nFormer Athletic Director Michael McNeely renewed the University's quest for a new mascot last year. But that search fizzled out when he resigned in November 2002.\nPart of the difficulty in adopting a mascot is no definitive explanation of a "Hoosier" exists. \nBut some, like freshman Vlad Simianu, don't see the ambiguity as a hindrance. \n"I honestly have no idea what a Hoosier is," Simianu said. "However, I think it is this lack of unidentifiable mascot that gives Indiana character"
