Walking by the Riverfront Center at Sacramento State, trying to find a seat to get some homework done, I couldn’t help but be distracted by the antics of two squirrels. Squirrel number one was running around with a Dorito in its mouth, squirrel number two getting a whiff of it, chasing the other squirrel up a tree.

What is it about the squirrels that make Sac State their home? I think it’s safe to say that students recognize the difference between a Sac State squirrel and the average squirrel found at a park. Sac State squirrels are aggressive, anxiously waiting for the last bite of a Togo’s sandwich or the last chip in the bag.

Probably the saddest moment was when I saw a squirrel pick up a ball of paper and eagerly try to eat it, gripping the crumpled piece of trash in its tiny hands, hoping for an afternoon snack and instead getting the aftermath of a student’s failed assignment.

Who can really blame them? Students voluntarily feed the squirrels, adding to their domestication and their fearlessness towards humans.

“They become accustomed to being near people but they’re still wild,” said Susanne Lindgren, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.

After talking to Lindgren, I’m convinced that maybe we are all just guests in their home. In this scenario, who lives in the 3,500 trees on campus, the squirrels or us?

Martha West was a dedicated biology professor at Sac State, and Lindgren remembers her as a friend of the squirrels.

Lindgren said West would come outside of Sequoia Hall on campus and the squirrels would come running to her, perched up and waiting for their daily treats.

West would feed them corn and peanuts, things that were normal to their diet, and after she passed away the squirrels would still come by, waiting and hoping for treats.

Are we doing the squirrels more harm than good by feeding them? Not too equipped myself to answer this question, I went on a hunt to find what other students think.

Sac State student Katlin Parker enjoys having the squirrels on campus and doesn’t think they directly benefit the campus, but she also doesn’t think that they hurt the campus.

“They’re so cute, they’re like little pets,” Parker said.

Maybe that’s one way of thinking about them, as Sac State’s pets. Not pests, pets.

At freshman orientation, I was told that the yellow strip guidelines around campus were not meant for guide dogs or the blind but to shock the squirrels.

In light of this myth, I spent that whole day trying to avoid the yellow strips, hoping not to get shocked or see a squirrel suffering cardiac arrest.

My orientation leader could have just said the squirrels here aren’t average.

“I think the squirrels are a little annoying, but they’re not too bad,” said Sac State student James Hymes. “They’re kind of aggressive, they come up to people; they’re fearless. They come up to people take food and stuff like that, they have no reaction to humans whatsoever.”

That’s the most frightening part of Sac State’s squirrels, being completely unafraid of humans, going as far as touching a human’s leg to get the last crumbs of a Panda Express bowl.

“These squirrels have character, they are bold and they’re kind of scary,” Hymes said. “They’re different.”

It might be the fact that squirrels at Sac State are just used to humans, and know without a doubt they can get students to give them food.

Or maybe it’s just that they are a rare breed, the Cheetos and crumpled paper being a steroid to squirrels, making them fearless.

“It gives the campus a little bit of character, people know about the squirrels at Sac State,” Hymes said.