Worlds Largest Bronze Cat

So, Wednesday, we had an all-day retreat with the entire Student Life Division (all 60 of us). Whew! Some of it was fun (like hearing about the 10 year master plan they're unvailing in May) and the wine and food pairing class. As a part of it, I chose to take the session where I got to pretend like a prospective student and take a campus tour. I learned some very interesting facts. Like, apparently, Davidson was a labor camp as well as a college when it opened up. Students went to school half the day and worked the fields the other half. Interesting.

I digress. Anyways, the tour reminded me about something that's driven me crazy since I got here and I've been meaning to write about for some time. 

Almost every morning on my way to the office, I pass a tour. I typically cross paths with them at this spot right here...

...where the tour guide proceeds to tell a random group of 16 year olds and their parents about how the college has the "worlds largest bronze wildcat." I mean seriously, there are so many great things to share about this school (great academics, small class sizes, study abroad, no loan policy) and every day I have to hear about this stupid bronze cat. I mean, my students dress it up in hula leis and santa hats on a regular basis for publicity. It's not a big deal around here. And, I highly doubt that after hearing this fine statement anyone says, "Oh, I have to go to Davidson now. That giant cat statue is amazing!"

I preparation for this venting, I decided to do a little research on the feline. Here it goes: It arrived in September 2001, weighing in at 1500 lbs (that's a big cat). The statue, an artistic representation of the Davidson College mascot, is a gift to the college from Irwin Belk, a 1945 alumnus and longtime college supporter from Charlotte. Belk has apparently donated "world's largest" statues of mascots to several other area institutions, including a bull at Johnson C. Smith University, a 12-foot tall pirate at Eastern Carolina University, and an eagle at the Jesse Helms Center Foundation at Wingate University.

Wouldn't you want that to be your donor legacy? I gave lots of schools giant mascot statues so that poor student tour guides can say boring things about it each day on their way around campus. Trust me. It gets old hearing them say it. So, it must be even worse having to actually spiel about it each time.