Eagle Logos Crack

By: EDEN BROWN

The eagle logos installed by the University of Mary Washington on College Avenue began showing significant damage from traffic flow over winter break just two months after they were installed.

The initial cost of the logos was $1,335 each, at a totaling the cost of $16,020.

Rick Pearce, acting vice president for administration and finance assures the UMW community that the repairs will come at no cost to the university.

“The repairs won’t cost anything.  The two that are peeling were damaged in transit, but we had hoped we’d repaired them enough so that they would hold.  Obviously, they did not, and I decided not to replace them until the weather gets warmer. They apply better in warm weather,” Pearce said.

He also noted that the sand and salt will wash away after winter ends, further facilitating the logos’ reapplication.

The vendor of the logos echoes Pearce’s ideas in an article recently published in the Free Lance-Star. The vendor said that it will not be able to repair these logos until the surface temperature of the asphalt warms up since the thermal plastic requires warmer weather in order to be applied effectively to the roads.

Two years ago the Student Government Association proposed to have UMW logos painted throughout the UMW.

In email sent out to the UMW community, Peace stated that the original goal behind these logos was to establish a symbol of school spirit and pride in UMW athletics.  As of Nov. 28, the university has put 12 seven-by-seven foot mascots in place, spaced 250 feet apart on alternating lanes along College Avenue.

Many students feel that the logos are an eye sore and do the opposite of promoting school pride.

Junior Tommy Campbell said, “Mary Wash should have spent that money on teachers. We need more teachers.”

Junior Matt Wease agrees with Campbell.

“We complain about having no funds, and then we go waste the money on those ridiculous looking logos,” Wease said.

However, some students such as junior Chris Shea feels that it is a good addition to the UMW campus.

“It’s the little things like painting UMW logos along College Avenue that help to encourage school spirit, which we have lacked for a long time,” Shea said.

Despite mixed feelings, Pearce sees the logos as a sound investment.
“The logos were requested by the SGA and we were glad to be able to respond to them positively,” Pearce said.