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Date: 3/20/2015
WESTFIELD – Westfield State University’s Interim President Elizabeth Preston challenged students to find a solution. Now, a handful has accepted it.
After the New England Patriots claimed victory over the Seattle Seahawks at the Feb. 1 Super Bowl, Westfield State took a loss in the form of its iconic globe structure. During student celebrations, it was damaged beyond repair.
Though the globe cannot be fixed, Preston asked students to find a way to raise the money to replace it.
So began the Save the Globe fundraising campaign.
Started by Justin Connolly ’16, Tori Landry ’15, David Langlois ’15 and Megan Lussier ’15, the goal is to raise $1,000 to $2,000 to replace the campus fixture.
“Tori and I are very passionate about the Westfield State community. When Interim President Elizabeth Preston emailed the student body to challenge everyone to step up, without hesitation we wanted to start the initiative,” Lussier said. “The globe had always been the symbol to us of our campus and Justin and David felt the same way too, so with our common goal in mind, we banded together to bring back the center piece of our campus green.”
Though reactions have been mixed from students who are frustrated by the vandalism and the faculty who support the initiative, some have commented on the campaign’s Facebook page that it should not be up to the entire student body to fix what a small group ruined.
The university has been investigating the vandalism, but those behind the Save the Globe campaign said that for now, they are just doing what they can to bring back a beloved symbol.
“We are just doing our best to remain positive and keep up a good sense of community while raising funds,” Landry said.
While there is a donation page set up, the group has also arranged an on-campus event. The Westfield State TV Club had planned a Mario Kart Tournament fundraiser, with money being donated to a charity that had not been selected yet.
Instead, proceeds from the March 26 event will benefit the Save the Globe fundraising efforts.
For more information about the campaign or to follow for updates, visit the “Save the Globe at Westfield State” Facebook page. To make a donation to help replace the globe, visit https://www.westfieldalumni.org/page.cfm?p=828.