For incoming freshmen, Welcome Week was their first as MSU students, but three new faces on campus have already become a part of university history.
Criminal justice freshman Kerrie Schultz, no-preference freshman Kristen Brady and no-preference engineering freshman Michelle Raetz helped MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon unveil the new Sparty statue at the intersection of Kalamazoo Street, Red Cedar and Chestnut roads Thursday evening.
The unveiling ceremony took place in front of a crowd of several hundred spectators who gathered in the newly restructured intersection and plaza surrounding the statue.
The ceremony featured comments from senior administration officials, an appearance by Sparty and music from several dozen members of the Spartan Marching Band.
Schultz, Brady and Raetz were picked out of the crowd to help reveal the statue by sesquicentennial committee Chairwoman Sue Carter.
The three students had decided to walk to the ceremony at the encouragement of their mentor, Raetz said.
"We were just shocked that we got asked to help," she said. "It's probably not going to happen for another hundred years."
Before the unveiling, the crowd heard words from Simon, Carter, and Provost Kim Wilcox.
Carter mentioned a variety of sesquicentennial events planned for the fall, including the reinstatement of traditions such as Water Carnival and a Homecoming bonfire.
Simon and the students pulled off the white shroud to cheers from the crowd, and the band immediately kicked into the MSU fight song.
The bronze statue is an exact replica made from a mold of the original terra cotta sculpture, which has been moved inside the new addition to Spartan Stadium to protect the fragile material.
"We wanted to sustain all aspects of the tradition," Simon said. "We just changed the composition so it would weather well."
The new bronze statue could withstand the elements for 150 years, Simon said, but as administrators found out, it wouldn't stand to be covered for even a few months.
Officials had originally planned to reveal the statue at an Oct. 8 dedication ceremony for donors, but when the artist learned they were planning to cover the statue, he warned them that condensation from leaving Sparty covered could cause discoloration on the statue's exterior.
"That was a surprise to us," Simon said.
That knowledge prompted the last-minute planning for the Welcome Week ceremony. The Oct. 8 dedication ceremony will still be held, she said, where the statue might be unveiled a second time.
Simon said she was pleased with the turnout at Thursday's event, since it was on such short notice.
"We know that over the weekend there will be lots of people dropping by," she said, adding that the new plaza was designed to be accessible to foot traffic.
A number of students attended the ceremony Thursday.
"It's a pretty historic moment," finance freshman Frank Wiegand said.
Wiegand stopped by the event with several friends, including no-preference freshman Nick Vito, who said he thought moving the original statue inside was a good idea, rather than letting it continue to deteriorate.
