Current efforts to clean up and repair MSU’s aging Sparty, believed to be the largest free-standing ceramic statue in the world, are necessary and, unfortunately, a regular event. The statue is visibly aging, which raises the question, “Why all the maintenance?”
Originally constructed out of terra cotta in the 1940s - a substitution for metal because of cost concerns and the availability of materials - Sparty is showing his 60-plus years.
Thankfully, a crew of diligent workers is putting in plenty of hours filling the cracks and cleaning up the signs of wear and tear.
But more could and should be done.
As a ceramic sculpture, Sparty isn’t as strong or sturdy as most other statues.
The short-sighted building of a cheaper, less durable statue was a mistake. But simply continuing to clean up the campus treasure year after year isn’t the solution to the problem.
Short-term fixes only will lead to more short-term fixes, requiring even more money and effort to campus’ treasured landmark.
A replacement Sparty would surely be the best route, providing campus with a new, stronger bronze statue at the intersection of Kalamazoo Street and Red Cedar and Chesnut roads. Our current guard would then get a chance to be sheltered from the elements and preserved as a piece the work of art he is.
Each year, students guard the statue from attackers looking to paint him with the colors of a certain school down the road.
Graduates trek in full cap-and-gown attire to have their pictures taken in front of him, using Sparty as a symbol of MSU - a representative of the entire campus and history of our school.
These moments may be brief and, arguably, nonessential to college life.
But it’s these extras that add to the experience every Spartan takes pride in. Like a good sports team or a beautiful campus, college is made up of important symbols that, years later as alumni, students look at as benchmarks of their career.
MSUhas been able to plan for a $250,000 statue of former MSU President John A. Hannah, using donations to pay for the piece of art. We wonder why the same attention has not been focused on an ailing Sparty.
Perhaps if alumni were to know about the bad state the MSU mascot has found himself in money quickly would become available. The same tradition that inspires pride while attending school may just be enough to get loyal Spartans to open their pockets and aid poor ol’ Sparty.
It’s not the statue that deserves the treatment, but each MSUstudent who wants to know that Sparty’s visage will be there for years to come, welcoming visitors as a symbol of strength for a campus that has always striven for excellence.
