“While (students) appreciate the efforts that they make to try to connect to the student body, it ruins the collegiate integrity of old campus,” Busselle said. “It’s a cool piece of art, but why here and why is it such a big deal to move it somewhere else?”

The sculpture represents the balance students maintain in their academic lives, said John Van Alstine, the sculpture’s creator.

During the sculpture’s three-year planning and construction process, it was created to fit in its current location, said Jeff Kacos, the director of campus planning and administration.

“The intent is to leave the piece there,” he said. “(It would be) extremely costly to move it, (there was) considerable investment in the foundation that keeps the piece from toppling over.”

The MSU Public Art on Campus Committee, an art advisory organization Kacos chairs, used recommendations from officials in Snyder and Phillips halls and other faculty, but not students directly, Kacos said.

The Residential College in the Arts and Humanities student government was approached to address concerns, such as possible placement in the middle of the courtyard, after much of the structure’s planning already was completed, he said.

Political theory and constitutional democracy junior Alex Hathaway said the university’s inability out to reach to a campuswide audience is understandable, if not efficient.

“If they asked about every single building or statue that was put up on campus, nothing would ever get done,” she said. “I feel like this appeal on Facebook, and by the students, is really the best way about this.”

Kacos hopes to have Van Alstine interact with students and those in the community to help them better explain its purpose during the piece’s dedication in the
fall semester.

“My hope is that people study it and consider the piece more,” he said. “If we can give people some tools (for) what it’s about and what it’s trying to accomplish, they will have a better appreciation for it.”

Theater junior Andrew Faber said although he understands its value, the piece takes away a portion of the courtyard space for recreational activities outside of class time.

“(Students) go out there and try to play catch — it’s a courtyard, it’s a green space,” he said. “To me, there are other places were you can put a structure like that — like at the new (Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum).”

Although the cost of deconstruction is one prohibiting factor of relocating “The Funambulist,” Kacos said students should give the piece consideration, especially when they return to campus in a few months.

“The beauty of public art pieces is that it can hit you by surprise,” he said. “You’re new, you don’t expect anything, and suddenly something is there that captures your attention.”