Activists Deface Sully Statue with Image of Wartime Enemy
In Academic Plaza, activists are protesting Lawrence Sullivan Ross with the image of his wartime enemy, Union President Abraham Lincoln. Known to students as “putting a penny on Sully,” the defacement is meant to embarrass the former Confederate General for being on the losing side of the Civil War.
“Lincoln was the antithesis of Sully in the Civil War,” senior Allie Alacia said. “I can’t think of a better image to protest Sully. Maybe Grant, but protesting with a $50 would exclude the economically marginalized.”
Students like Alacia have organized to make sure the protest happens daily. They put the pennies on Sully on days they have tests, which guarantees people will deface the statue every weekday.
Many students oppose the protesters. “This is almost as bad as the ‘sips removing Robert E. Lee,” senior Jonathan Wilmont said, referencing the removal of statues of Lee and other Confederate figures in 2017 by the University of Texas at Austin. Texas A&M has not announced plans to remove the Sully statue, despite recent resistance.
“I’m all for free speech, but defacing someone you don’t agree with is not okay,” junior Caitlin Alvarez said. “It’s Democrats protesting him, and Sully was a Democrat. Everyone putting pennies on Sully can’t accept their past.”
An attempt to organize a 24-hour watch of Sully has been made but has gained little traction. Despite the divided student body, the administration has not yet responded to the controversy.
—12th Man Card
12th Man Card is consistently losing his manhood, whether that be by skipping “Saturdays Are for the Boys” parties, drinking Michelob Lime Cactus or holding his girlfriend’s purse during football games. 12th Man Card is willing to sacrifice his manliness for love, leaving him with a constant turnstile of love interests that never seem to satisfy his romantic needs.