Bruin Bear Damaged!
 

I understand it's a rivalry, but this is a bit over the line. Hopefully UCLA will get the last laugh. If this isn't motivation, I don't know what is.

Bruin statue damaged by vandals / UCLA Newsroom

Vandals ripped open a canvas tarpaulin protecting UCLA's iconic "Bruin" statue and splashed the bronze sculpture with red and yellow oil-based paint sometime Tuesday night or early this morning.

The statue, located on campus in Bruin Plaza, was damaged sometime between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday, said UCLA Police Sgt. Paul Stewart. There were no witnesses to the vandalism, and police said they have no suspects. A felony vandalism report has been filed because the estimated cost of the damage is more than $400.

The statue had been covered by UCLA Facilities Management since Monday, a tradition that has been followed every year for more than 15 years during the week before the annual football game between UCLA and its crosstown rival, the University of Southern California. A message on the tarp had read, "The Bruin Bear is hibernating."

Police said the damaged tarp itself was spray-painted with obscenities. Vandals also left behind a can of spray paint.

"This probably ranks as one of the more egregious forms of vandalism of the bear that we've seen," said Leroy Sisneros, director of maintenance and alterations for UCLA Facilities Management, who recalled that the statue was last vandalized three years ago, when it was defaced with white paint, but not during UCLA–USC rivalry week.

"It took all day to clean in 2006. This is going to take a lot longer," Sisneros said. "It's going to be very expensive. In the past, vandals used water-based paint that can be washed off. But this time, they used an oil-based paint that will be more difficult to remove."

A UCLA crew was using acetone in an attempt to remove the paint without damaging the statue's patina. It was hoped that the paint could be removed by tonight.

Carpenters were on site preparing to construct a plywood enclosure for the statue to provide it with more protection.

In 1984, "The Bruin," a gift from the UCLA Alumni Association, was unveiled before a crowd of nearly 1,000 alumni celebrating the association's first half-century. Measuring 10 feet long, 6 feet wide, 3 feet across and weighing more than 2 tons, the statue was billed at that time as the largest bear sculpture in the United States.

You can't spell scum without USC.

Pranks are one thing, causing damage is another.

Losers.

Its a rivalry..and this isn't that bad.. I've personally seen waaaaaayy worse. The Kansas Jayhawks/Missouri Tigers rivalry is seeded from the civil war days...Its bad...I'm tellin you, this USC stunt is nothing compared to what I've seen and witnessed...Should it be condoned? of course not...But next year, it'll happen again, and again, and again, thats what rivalries produce... I'm sure Ohio State/Michigan has been a part of way worse also. UNC/Duke is another one...

Haven't heard that one, but I like it. :thumbup:

I don't know about the other rivalries and how bad things get, but when there's a chance that the finish of the statue will be damaged, that's pretty bad. I wouldn't think anything of it if they had used water based paint, but from what the report says, oil based ones are a PITA to clean up and acetone isn't exactly the most gentle cleaner to use.

how pathetic :( wtf kind of immature fools would rise to such levels of prepubescent vandalism. my dad tells me that back in the day - 1950s - you weren't even allowed to cuss on the football field. now we have this. sad times indeed :(

and no i'm not just saying this cuz i was a bruin, honestly, i'd be even MORE disappointed if UCLA students had done such a thing to USC's campus. this is just retarded