Panther statue decorating pushed back to Jan. 10

With Pitt’s Light Up Night scheduled for tomorrow, Student Government Board president Shady… With Pitt’s Light Up Night scheduled for tomorrow, Student Government Board president Shady Henien has called another audible on his controversial fiberglass panther statue project.

Because the 10 statues did not arrive until this weekend – when they were previously scheduled to come Wednesday – Henien decided that it would be best to delay the decorating procedures, which he hoped would be completed by tomorrow night.

“I don’t want any groups to have to be rushed throughout the process,” Henien said. “This is supposed to be a fun time for all organizations.”

The statues will be given to different student groups to paint and decorate.

The exhibition of the painted statues will now occur on Jan. 10, to coincide with the inauguration of the newly elected board.

The six-foot tall statues cost SGB $60,000, which they paid for with an unexpected surplus from last year’s budget. SGB enlisted Heavy Industries, located in Calgary, Canada, to craft the statues.

Heavy Industries took longer than SGB expected to both construct and deliver the statues. They did not provide Henien with any reason for the delays.

“They just apologized, that’s all,” Henien said.

This marks the third time SGB has rescheduled the plan. Initially, the statues were to be decorated in time for this year’s homecoming. When Heavy Industries delayed production of the statues, SGB pushed the unveiling back to tomorrow’s Light Up Night.

Henien said that the statues will still go on display tomorrow, unpainted, on the main floor of the William Pitt Union. The statues will receive some last-minute decorations in the form of Pitt scarves and other apparel.

Henien said that he wanted to put the unpainted statues in a public place “just to show the student body that the panthers are here, to get everyone excited.”

After e-mailing the participating groups, Henien found that many of them were too busy this weekend to coordinate the decoration of their statues. Henien cited upcoming final exams, the Pitt-WVU football game and the Pitt Dance Marathon as causes for groups’ unwillingness to decorate their panthers over the weekend.

“I spoke with different organizations, and I think that this would be for the best,” Henien said. “This is going to be a great tradition here at the University, so I don’t want to rush it.”

Earlier in the semester, Henien received criticism from other board members for rushing the project. The SGB vote to support the panther statue project occurred over the summer, and most board members had to communicate over the Internet and vote with little student feedback.

The online vote resulted in a 3-3 tie with one abstention, causing Henien to cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of the project.

After reviewing 26 proposals, the SGB selection committee gave the statues to Tau Beta Sigma (a band sorority), the Pre-Medical Organization for Minority Students, The Pitt News, Pitt’s chapter of the American Chemical Society, the Panther Psychology Club, Pathfinders and the Black Action Society.

The Inter-Fraternity Council, the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the National Panhellenic Association will combine to decorate one of the statues.

The Panthers for Israel, Hillel, the Muslim Students Association and the Saudi Student House will work together to create a statue, as well.

SGB also took one of the statues for itself, which it has invited all students not involved with any of the nine other statues to help decorate.

Once painted, the statues will be placed in prominent locations around campus until homecoming next year, where they will be repainted by a new selection of groups.