The Owl and the Technocrat
Did Steve Jobs really steal the Doyle Owl?
In the winter of 1996–97, a band of Reed students, including Justin Campbell ’99 and Colin McCluney ’99, took the Doyle Owl on an epic road trip to California—because that’s what you do when you have the Doyle Owl.
One of the students hailed from the Bay Area and knew where Steve lived. On a whim, they decided to stop by his house and invite him to gaze upon the wondrous concrete mascot.
They rang the bell, half-expecting no one to answer. Just a few days before, Steve had made international headlines by agreeing to return to Apple after being ousted 11 years earlier.
But to their delight, Steve came to the door, listened to their tale, and insisted on seeing their prize possession with his own eyes. They talked about Old Reed for a while, and he even posed for this photo with the Owl in Justin’s parents’ minivan.