When Student Government Association (SGA) President Gabrielle Demieke found out the results of the spring elections, she began to plan what she wanted to do with her presidency.
Near the top of that list was building a statue of Webster University’s mascot, the Gorlok. Demieke, along with the rest of SGA and the Student Ambassadors, announced the project on Nov. 3.
The planned statue will be made of bronze and stand 3 feet tall on top of a 3-foot pedestal between Emerson Library and Sverdrup. The statue will cost $13,000 and be paid for entirely by student body and alumni fundraising.
SGA and Student Ambassadors used the events of I Heart Webster Week to kickstart their fundraising. They raised $2,000. The goal is to have the entire $13,000 raised by May so construction can begin the following summer and be completed by the Webster University centennial in November 2015.
Demieke said that if fundraising is not complete in time, they will continue until it is — even if they don’t hit the November deadline.
Demieke said she was inspired by St. Louis University’s (SLU) mascot statue. SLU has a 3-foot bronze statue of their mascot, the Billiken, on top of a 3-foot pedestal. Demieke said it is tradition for students to rub the Billiken’s belly their freshman year for luck and again their senior year.
Billy Ratz, development officer in the alumni office, said the placement of the statue is meant to bring together the current quad and the planned expanded quad that will cross Edgar road.
Reporting contributed by Rebecca Doran
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