Editorial:
Revamping Tiger Spot requires a concrete plan
Published March 19, 2010
That ugly tarp sitting on Lowry Mall, otherwise known as Tiger Spot, has been an issue on the MU campus for some time now.
A recently created Facebook group, Restore the Tiger Mosaic, was created with the goal of finding solutions to the problems created by Tiger Spot. It's grown to more than 1,400 members since its creation March 10.
Tiger Spot is a 700-square-foot mess MU cannot touch, move or repair due to copyright issues.
The mosaic's tiles are all wrong. It can't stand up to the amount of foot traffic it receives or the Missouri weather.
According to previous Maneater articles, Steve Miotto of Miotto Mosaics submitted a two-page report summarizing the problems with the tile. Not only is the glass too thin, but also the dry ice and water Jackson used to flash freeze individual sections could have weakened the glass by expanding joints between tiles.
MU offered Jackson money to move and recreate the Tiger Spot, but Jackson refused saying he wanted more money and more control. Unfortunately, repairing it without a complete overhaul is impossible, because the tiles wouldn't survive.
MU has tried to restore the spot in the past. In 2003, it installed more than 300 donor bricks around the perimeter, but according to Campus Facilities Associate Director Phil Shocklee, the bricks are permanently stuck down and would cost a great deal of money to remove. This isn't even including the angry donors who paid for the bricks.
There are many problems associated with Tiger Spot and simply demanding it be repaired won't do any good. Creating a group advocating discussion and solutions for the Tiger Spot problem isn't enough. Students must be educated on the issue before making demands to the administration.
Restore the Tiger Mosaic creator Bethany Welcher said her goal in the group was to educate underclassmen and spark interest in alternative measures because the tarp doesn't represent us well.
It would be good to link to more than one article or provide actual background to the issue in the group's description rather than conveying pure discontent with a tarp and asking MU to pay a hefty repair fee.
Students aren't wrong in being interested in campus issues or in using social media to create a forum, but it's important to truly educate and know the issue yourself.
Comments (4)
2:31 p.m., March 19, 2010
Anonymous said:
If you think that we haven't talked about these issues then you obviously haven't looked at the actual group. Every problem you discussed here has been discussed in the group.
9:56 p.m., March 19, 2010
Impressed said:
Not gonna lie, one of the better Maneater Editorials. Good job maneater way to stick it to ignorant students who just want to whine and not do anything.
6:36 p.m., May 1, 2010
Ironic said:
"Not gonna lie, one of the better Maneater Editorials. Good job maneater way to stick it to ignorant students who just want to whine and not do anything." By "whine and not do anything", you must mean "post thoughtless, unoriginal comments on poorly written editorials." My 2 year old nephew can insert a sarcastic remark at the end of his sentences, but that doesn't get us anywhere. If the author of this piece is so concerned about distributing information, maybe they should start their own facebook group about it rather than write articles criticizing people for actually trying to do something. Then s/he can post as many links as they want and really make a difference. And if you think this is one of the better Maneater editorials, you're either on the editorial staff or you need to read more editorials.
12:38 p.m., March 19, 2010
StrudelNinja said:
Truly educate myself? That's why I'm attending college in the first place. And I'm too busy to really care about the logistics of mosaic repair. I joined the group to add myself to a number, then promptly forgot about it. If it weren't for this article, I still wouldn't even think about it. The point of the whole matter is that tarps are good for covering piles of lumber and keeping a baseball field dry. They're not aesthetic. Here's my 2 second solution: pull up the mosaic, put it inside of some building, fill the hole in, and let some local artists paint and graffiti a tiger or something there. Anything would look better than a tarp.