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Gabriel King/Fourth Estate

BY VIVIANA SMITH, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Over the weekend, Mason students took to social media to mourn the loss of the fox that roams the Fairfax campus.

On Sunday, Nov. 17 at 10:47 a.m., Mason Police received a phone call about a fox who had been hit by a car outside of the Rappahannock River Parking Deck. Mason Police notified the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to remove the animal off the premises. Though there have been multiple foxes on campus, many have assumed the dead animal was “Georgina.”

Named “Georgina” from users who have posted sightings of her on the r/gmu subreddit, the news of the fox’s death has spread quickly with many in disbelief. 

In a post on r/gmu, user “QAanonymousse” asked for confirmation of the death, to which another user wrote, “yes he really did die!”

“Noo why did he die,” user “Unhappy_Resource5658” wrote in a post. “I am so sad now he was so inspiring and happy to me everyday I would see him and made me laugh and brought me good vibes!”

Students took to various other social media platforms, such as YikYak, Snapchat and Instagram to pay tribute to the fallen fox. 

The Instagram account “gmufox,” a page dedicated to sharing submitted photos of “Georgina” sightings, has reposted several tribute posts onto their Instagram story from various users. In a post originally shared on Nov. 14, one user commented, “fly high georgina.”

“This fox was really something special on campus, always making talk of the town,” wrote user “RedditsNinja23” in a post. “And it’s really unfortunate that it’s gone.” User “yces_12” responded, “RIP Campus Fox 2024-2024 the mascot we didn’t have, but the mascot we needed.”

The event has given way to a recurring concern on campus: reckless driving. In the same post, one user, “RIPNaranc1a,” mentioned reckless behaviors of some drivers on campus noting their disregard for right of way. Another user, “Unhappy-Second-7893” responded with a story of a near-hit experience while crossing the street.  “Some people are just [reckless],” the user wrote. 

Some on social media mentioned the possibility of a funeral. The Mason community has virtually come together to mourn the loss of a beloved character on the Fairfax campus.