The statue's location:
"The reason that particular spot had been chosen was because the lady
who donated the money
had been proposed to in a plaza that stood on the spot
where the parking lot was and the statue is."
What the money was really donated for.
At the time, there were plenty of possible other flocations for the statue.
In order to erect this blasphemous image, approximately 20 parking spots
were removed. These spots were considered "prime spots" by the inhabitants
of Jennings Dormitory for men.
The parking spaces immediately behind Jennings (Fisk side), together with
the "alley" on the side comprised a loading zone for move-in and move-out.
The construction of the idol and the closing of the alley have removed
that loading zone. Jennings' lack of an elevator made move-in and move-out difficult enough. Now men must walk even further across hostile terrain.
At the time the statue was built, the parking situation at Howard Payne had reached an all-time low. Students were being required to live in the dorms for three years, as opposed to the previous time of two years (prior to 1995-1996, only one year was required for new students). This dramatically increased the need for parking spaces, yet the administration removed valuable parking spaces here and at other campus locations. (See parking section of residence editorial)
Though the parking situation has improved somewhat in the intervening years
through the addition of other parking lots, the situation will never be
as good as it was before these disastrous policies.
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