Costly repairs to Bruin statue ups security
By Sean Greene
Feb. 16, 2010 9:00 p.m.
The academic year’s second act of vandalism against the Bruin statue has prompted plans to increase lighting and install cameras in Bruin Plaza.
UCLA Facilities Management is currently putting together the costs and details of the project, which is expected to move forward in the next 30 days.
“One of the things we’re very concerned about is the aesthetic of that area,” said Leroy Sisneros, director of maintenance and alterations for Facilities Management. “We’re looking at types of lighting at this point.”
Last November, the bear statue was splashed with red and yellow oil-based paint, which took six people several days to clean, at a cost of $10,000, said Steve Rojas, a senior superintendent of maintenance and alterations for Facilities Management. Much of the cost came from a pool built to collect and later dispose of the hazardous materials used to clean the statue.
For the remainder of the rivalry week, the statue was placed in a box to protect it from further acts of vandalism after the original tarp was slashed.
On Feb. 8, the bear was again vandalized. Although the damage was not as severe as the attack in November, repairing the bear cost between $2,000 and $2,500, Rojas said.
Next year, Rojas said the Bruin will be housed in the box again during rivalry week.
“(The box) was built to be used again,” he said.
Sisneros said a company called the Sculpture Conservation Studio is responsible for maintaining the many sculptures on campus.
About five years ago, a person damaged several sculptures in the north side of the Rolfe Hall courtyard. However, there has not been significant cases of vandalism to the campus’ sculptures, he said.
“Most people treat our sculptures like art,” Sisneros said. “They should be treated like art.”
Sisneros said it is everyone’s role to help maintain the campus.
“(The bear is) a sculpture, and we have to protect it,” he said. “It’s very different to protect them because we have an open campus.”
Facilities Management takes a very active role in removing any kind of graffiti as soon as it goes up, Sisneros said.
“We’re always concerned with vandalism,” he said. “We take a very proactive role on cleaning up vandalism on campus. … Once you leave it up, it increases.”
University police spokeswoman Nancy Greenstein said officers are briefed on the threat to the statue. The police also rely on student Community Service Officers to serve as additional eyes and ears, who conduct regular patrols at all hours, Greenstein said.
“If you’re looking to vandalize the bear, you’re going to be watching out for the police,” she said. “It is very helpful for students and members of the community to (report suspicious behavior).”
