CINCINNATI — There is a cat fight brewing at the University of Cincinnati. The beloved Bearcat statue, which sits right outside Fifth Third Arena, is being moved into storage for the next two years.
“A lot of people are like, this is a staple of the university,” nursing student Sydney Ford said. “When you come on tours when you’re a freshman, this is one of the big things they show you” Mackenzie Casto explained.
While it is a focal point on campus and a great photo opportunity, university officials said it has to be moved for the construction of a new indoor practice facility and athletic performance center.
Construction starts in the spring, so UC officials alerted students to get their photos in now before the statue goes into storage.
Fourth year nursing majors Sydney Ford and Mackenzie Casto took things into their own hands, by starting a petition.
“We just kind of were like, we should make a petition, it was kind of a joke” Ford said.
But that joke got some attention.
“The Barstool Instagram actually picked it up and posted it on Instagram and it went from like 200 to 2,000 signed in a day,” Ford said.
UC has a solution and reminds students that the move is only temporary during construction and the statue will return somewhere on campus in the summer of 2025. And it seems like the university did hear concerns of students, deciding to delay moving the Bearcat statue from March 6 to May 1. That means spring graduates with end of April ceremonies will still be able to snap some photos in their caps and gowns.
“We graduate at Fifth Third so we’ll come out after we graduate, it’s kind of like the beginning and the end so I’m happy it will still be there,” Casto said.
As far as moving the statue to a new location - UC spokesperson M.B. Reilly said in a statement, “Our Planning, Design + Construction did look at options. Unfortunately, safety concerns would make temporary relocation problematic because of related stabilization needs.”
Click here to see the full release from UC on the construction plans and move
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