UnBEARable Acts by BSU Students
By Cori DuBois
Campus Life Editor
During the baseball season, the Red Sox used the catchphrase “Do Damage”. The slogan should have been left to the players on the field but who knew Bridgewater State students would take it literally. After the Red Sox secured their ninth World Series victory, BSU students decided to celebrate by doing flips off of the bear sculptures on campus and rallying in front of Boyden Hall. These bear sculptures were just recently added to the campus this previous summer to make the university more appealing visually. These bears were an expensive purches to support the artists who created them and introduce the campus to unique creations. The bears racked in at approximately $4,000 each.
BSU students swarmed the east side of campus with intentions of celebrating this win, and BSU police patrolled the campus to make sure this was done in an orderly fashion. However, several BSU students decided to vandalize two bear sculptures, located in front of the Rondileau Campus Center and in University Park.
One of the bears, that was anchored into the ground, was rammed into by several students which severely damaged it and knocked it down. The other bear was rolled into the pond which is located in University Park.
While the destruction of these statues may have been all “fun and games” to BSU students at the time, it still puts into question some of our values as a campus. While some students may not have been the biggest fans of these ceramic bear sculptures scattered around campus, destroying something to celebrate a win goes against what we stand for as a campus.
It is ignorant to disregard the time and effort that someone put into creating these works of art. The bear sculptures that were vandalized were “Off Track” in University Park by Sagie Vangelina, and “Marka27” located in front of RCC by Oso Nativo. It is also sad to see that people who pay to attend a campus that puts so much effort into making our campus look beautiful with art, green spaces, and gardens can feel so comfortable destroying it.
Later that night, videos went viral on the Barstool Bridgewater Instagram and Twitter pages of students engaging in the vandalization of these sculptures. Due to the videos being public on social media, the police were able to identify three of the students who were involved in this destruction of campus property and made three arrests; Brian Cerow, 18, of Hopedale, Cullen Murphy, 20, of Mansfield and 20-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim. These students face charges of vandalizing property and destruction of property over $1,200.
The bears have since been put back up but as a campus. However, we should be passionate Boston sports fans and not use destruction as a form of celebration. These actions represent us as a community. Plus, we don’t want to be compared to Eagles fans, do we? This is not the first time that we have won a World Series or any other sports championship, and it won’t be the last. So next time lets show everyone that we celebrate like champions!
Cori DuBois is the Campus Life Editor for The Comment.
