against the students’
the campus festive.
Rick Moore
The theft of six Founder’s Day banners last month has prompted San Diego State University to make a proactive effort to ensure their return.
The banners were stolen March 19 from light poles on the Campanile Mall, the area between Love Library and the Music building. The banners were secured to the light poles with steel locks, which were defeated with a cutting tool, said Marc Fox, Public Safety Crime Prevention Specialist. The banners are valued at $100 each.
An advertisement depicting the “before and after” scenes of the light poles ran in The Daily Aztec last week in an effort to have the the banners returned, “no questions asked.” The advertisement, sponsored by SDSU’s Associated Students, Paradosis (an organization that promotes unity within the Greek system) and Aztec Shops, specified campus pride as the underlying concern.
“This is a crime against the students,” said Rick Moore, director of University Communications. “What I’d like to see happen is for the students to protest the theft of the banners. I think people will yawn if they hear the administration wants them back. I’d like to hear a cry from the students to get them back. We’re trying to make the campus festive. It’s too bad someone has chosen to take that away.”
The original plan was for the banners to stay up through December 1997, said Laura Gropen, Aztec Shops manager of marketing and public relations. The banners, which were placed around campus for the March 15 Centennial celebration, were donated by Aztec Shops.
The eventual fate of the banners after December hasn’t been determined. Moore said several alumni expressed interest in buying the banners, but Gropen said SDSU may keep the banners for future events. What’s important now, Moore said, is that the banners are returned so the students can continue to enjoy them.
“Right now we don’t have any money to replace them,” Moore said. “The purpose for which they were put up originally is still relevant. It would be very nice if someone was mature enough to return them, but we don’t intend to go around and search for them.”
The banners can be returned to the Aztec Center Information Booth. None of the banners has been returned yet. Anyone with information about the banners or their unlawful captors should contact the University Police investigations unit at 594-5722.
