It is in reference to the Saugeen River in Bruce County which flows into Lake Huron and was once an important shipping barge route.

Ong, the first residence proctor, commented that he "couldn't help thinking of the sectioned cages used for experimental animal specimens."

To alleviate this, a new housing complex for single and married students was planned on the west side of Western Road near Medway Creek.

[3] Estimated to cost $12 million, the complex included the nearby apartment buildings of Bayfield, Beaver and Ausable Halls.

The bare, white concrete walls and bolted-down furniture gave the residence an antiseptic, institutionalized feel.

The "animal" image was established by the Saugeen residents in the first year: much vandalism occurred, including broken elevators and phones torn off the walls.

Several reasons were given for the problems: the large number (900 men, 300 women) of the residents, and the high ratio (80%) of first-year students.

[5] In 1971, the university decided to merge the two separate residences into one, and allow men and women to live on alternating single-sex floors.

This setup was declared a success in reducing damages and other incidents, as it "helped make the males more conscientious and mature," according to Marty Benson, Residence Council President.

Five false alarms in one weekend caused students to wait out in the cold for more than two hours in the early morning, sending one resident to hospital with frostbite on her fingers and toes.

[11] In an effort to fight the party animal image that had taken hold of Saugeen, and by extension Western, the administration began to crack down in 1989 on the use of the word "Zoo" being related in any way to the residence.

The group would organize pub crawls, and would sell a package including drink tickets, shot glasses and clothing with the words "Zoo Crew" on it.

Even though a representative from the Zoo Crew argued Western's administration should not be upset about these pub crawls because they were not residents of Saugeen, this loosely run organization eventually dissolved as well.

[14] During the 1998-1999 school year, the student council was asked to change the name of the Saugeen yearbook from The Jungle Book to something more appropriate, which did not refer even remotely to the Zoo.

[17] The University of Western Ontario has been selected among the Top 10 party schools in North America by Playboy magazine.

[18] To some degree, Saugeen is responsible for UWO's reputation as a "party school", an image university officials have been trying to change for years.

The media attention sparked discussion about the role of the In loco parentis doctrine and whether institutions of higher learning have a responsibility to control what happens in their residences.

One of the original administrative secretaries at Saugeen–Maitland Hall was the popular Darlene Wells who worked at the residence from 1969 to 1974 and then from 1976 until she retired on July 1, 1994.

Helping to keep order in the building were student "Dons" who oversaw a unit (three floors), along with three "House Seniors," all of which were provided rooms and received some nominal compensation for their efforts.

The majority of residences at Western have used student staff on Weekends (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) to provide guest registration.

[26] Harries died in 2006 in a car crash,[27] cementing the song as a bittersweet ode to Western's residence experience.