But then, yesteday, I noticed that there was a small bunch of flowers laid in the place where the penguin statue at LSE used to be. All that was left was its feet. At first I laughed, thinking it was a good prank, and then I was hit with a pang of guilt for laughing because it was gone and gone forever. That penguin had been there my whole first year, and everytime I walked by it, I was always slightly amused at how random it all was -- where it was placed, not quite directly across from a bronze elephant made around the same time (probably the 60s), and not quite in the center of campus (just in front of Waterstone's), and the absurdity of it being a penguin and an elephant, neither of which is our mascot (which is a beaver, btw). (This is a picture of it before the incident):
I made fun of it, but I liked it. It was comforting to see it. It made LSE -- super-academic , busy, full of ambitious people rushing around, anxious about their futures -- more accessible. It was fun to have a random penguin there in front of the bookstore, showing that we don't need to take ourselves so seriously. There are things in life that one can enjoy apart from books and intellectual conversations -- like a penguin statue.
So I'm sad that it's gone, and probably forever. I hope they replace it with another one, although it had been a gift from someone.
I guess, somehow, I'm beginning to appreciate aspects of school and life in London. It's sad that I only notice them when they're gone.
Goodbye Penguin. You will be missed.
For the article and picture:
http://thebeaveronline.co.uk/2009/03/penguin-statue-wrenched-off-campus.html
