For the second time in less than four months, the Bruin statue in Bruin Plaza was defaced.
According to university officials, the statue was sprayed with green paint on its front, mouth and side. It took a crew of three workers most of Monday to remove the paint, and they water-blasted the statue to clean it completely Monday evening.
“(Restoring the statue) must have cost a couple thousand dollars,” said Steve Rojas, a spokesman for UCLA Facilities Management, maintenance and alterations.
According to police, the defacing is being investigated as a possible vandalism, which is a felony level offense if the damage is worth over $400.
UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said the school does not believe the vandalism is related to the paint job the Bruin got on the eve of the UCLA vs. USC football game.
“We don’t believe this was a prank by a rival school,” Hampton said. “The colors were wrong.”