The Bruin Bear statue was found covered in red and yellow paint Thursday morning.
The Bruin Bear statue, located in Bruin Plaza, was vandalized sometime this week. The university erects chalkboard walls to protect the bear and other statues during Rivalry Week, the week leading up to the annual football match between USC and UCLA. One of the walls surrounding the Bruin Bear statue was found removed and the statue inside covered in red and yellow paint around 10 a.m. on Thursday.
UCPD Lt. Kevin Kilgore said he does not believe the statue has been vandalized while the walls have been in place in recent years.
UCLA started putting up the walls in 2010, after a similar case of vandalism on the bear in 2009 cost the university over $20,000.
Kilgore added UCPD detectives are working to determine exactly when the vandalism occurred.
Well – this lies at the feet of the student organizations on campus. In 2014 – same thing happened because the student in charge didn’t think other should stand guard after midnight. Really? sc wraps up tommy trojan and stands guard for 2 weeks 24/7. Yet, Bruins can’t manage to camp out? Like a basketball game (or do students even do that anymore?) Whoever is / was in charge needs to be reassigned….and find people to Guard Wooden and the bear.
Or, here’s a wild thought, maybe students, or whoever responsible, shouldn’t vandalize and damage university property? You can pull pranks and have school pride to support a rivalry without committing property damage
Here’s a wild thought: Maybe we shouldn’t depend on USC students and fans to behave responsibly, since they won’t. So maybe we should control the things we CAN control, like access to the bear.
The timing was almost perfect since they’re banning paint stripper for a few months until the less toxic variety comes out.
Today’s U.C.L.A. students are a disgrace, as is the current chancellor. Zero school spirit. This would never have happened while Chuck Young was chancellor. How hard is it to guard the bear for a week?
Students at UCLA have better things to do with their time, like go to class, be productive members of society, and sleep. They show plenty of school spirit by keeping standards high and allowing the school to remain one of the best ranked in the country.