Don't paint the fountain red

From Behind the Lens By Ryan Smith

John Glenn became the first man to orbit the earth in 1962.

John F. Kennedy fought off the Cuban missile crisis threat that same year.

Tom Cruise was born, Sean Connery became James Bond, Stevie Wonder’s music career began and the beer industry was revolutionized with the invention of the pull-tab beer can—all this happened in 1962.

Yes, what a year that was for America.

Huge technological advances were being made, music and entertainment were great and beer became easier to drink.

With that said, the students and faculty of Fresno State will be forever scarred by 1962 and the unveiling of the memorial court fountain that continues to plague the landscape on campus to this very day.

Though it’s not remembered as a day that will live in infamy, since the Memorial Fountain’s dedication Dec. 7, it too has slowly corroded and withered in the same, sad fashion as the USS Arizona at the bottom of Pearl Harbor.

The once-blue tile that lines the inside of the fountain is now opaque with chlorine and calcium scum, and the fountainis just as often devoid of water as it is full.

On those rare occasions when the fountain is running, instead of witnessing a steady, choreographed stream of water soar gracefully through the air before arching simultaneously back into the second tier of the fountain, one will view only a handful of jets pitifully spit water inches above the rim before mildly upsetting the stagnated water.

It is truly pathetic.

But just when you thought this old and decrepit eyesore couldn’t get any more ugly, the school has created, out of thin air, a new homecoming tradition of painting the fountain red.

Someone should have informed the school that painting the Valley red was just a euphemism intended to arouse school spirit—not for indulging in childlike impulses to draw all over everything.

In case you’ve missed the last week of school—or you are color blind—the already-ugly fountain has become a horrendous, red-painted mess reminiscent of a kindergarten finger painting project.

Soon after this article reaches newsstands, not only will the fountain be blindingly red, but it will also have painted across it, the phrase “Homecoming 2004”.

For shame, for shame.

Fresno State should leave homecoming tradition to pep rallies, football games and President Welty riding tiny bikes.

Take our tuition money and use it to actually restore the condition of the memorial fountain rather than aid in its degradation.