Student leaders and University administrators gathered on Thursday to unveil a binturong statue in the Admissions Center. The statue will be temporarily displayed there for prospective students to see before it is permanently moved to the Spine.

University President Harvey Stenger and BU Council Representative Mackenzie Cooper, a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, gave speeches before current and past Road Map interns, a group of students who work with administrators on implementing strategic ideas around campus.

The interns were credited with coming up with the initial idea, with a proposal first drafted in February 2023. They were inspired by mascot statues at other institutions, including the University of Maryland, Northwestern State University and Cornell University, using them as benchmarks for BU’s design.

“It all started with President Stenger being inspired by Touchdown, the mascot for Cornell,” said Jay Yong, a Road Map intern and a junior majoring in accounting. “He hoped it could be a new tradition for the campus by serving as a campus landmark and creating a sense of unity across all members of the University.”

The interns participated in meetings with various stakeholders like the Campus Appearance Committee, a body responsible for “directing and managing public art and commemorative elements on campus,” conducted research and even visited a local animal preserve to ensure the statue was sculpted accurately.

Yong said the statue’s creation aligned with several Road Map priorities — promoting an inclusive campus, fostering community engagement and promoting strategic investments.

Stenger, who announced he would be stepping down in October, said that there were many “cartoon-like” images of bearcats and Baxter, like the statue in front of the Event Center, so they wanted to make this one more emblematic of a real bearcat. The statue was a “capstone project” for the interns, whom he said he views as friends.

Nora Monasheri ‘23, MBA ‘24, last year’s BU Council representative, returned to campus from New York City to join the ceremony and told Pipe Dream it was something she “wouldn’t ever miss for the world.” She said that the statue is emblematic of students at BU.

“So you have a Bearcat, and you also have the inside of a Bearcat, which is a binturong, so you have a Binghamton student,” Monasheri said. “But at its core, you have so much more, and that entails a driven student — someone who will go above and beyond to make a lasting difference at Binghamton University and beyond. And that’s something that you won’t find at any other university but here.”

In her speech, Cooper described the impact she believes the statue will have going forward.

“We are really looking forward to the school spirit that this statue is going to bring, and all of the traditions that it represents,” Cooper said. “So we’re excited for the future while honoring the past.”

The University partnered last semester with Animal Adventure Park to have Bing the Bearcat, a live binturong, join Baxter in boosting school spirit. A University spokesperson at the time said Bing’s health and safety would be prioritized and the animal would not be placed “in stressful situations.”

Yong said the state would “become a beloved and familiar landmark at the heart of the campus” after its move to the Spine.

“Every bit of this statue was made with school spirit in mind, and we truly believe an accessible, welcoming mascot can significantly bolster our community’s sense of school pride more than people imagine,” she wrote.