Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity's lion statue outside the chapter's house was smashed again Friday - just a few months after an artist had to completely reconstruct its stone face.
The statue, which looks out over Museum Road and is dubbed "Leo" by fraternity members, received blows to the face and tail, leaving its top incisors strewn about six feet away and its wire frame exposed.
"We know who vandalized it," said Ryan Plate, president of SAE.
"We figured we'd give it a couple days for the person to come forward and admit it without involving the police."
Plate would not comment on the identity of the suspected smasher or whether there were witnesses to the crime.
He said the fraternity would report the incident to police if the vandal does not come forward soon.
It cost about $1,800 to replace the entire face of the lion last semester, said former SAE president Sam Warfield.
Leo's face did not incur as much damage this time around.
But Plate said including the tail's destruction, it could cost up to $2,000 to fix.
The same sculptor who restored the statue's face last November, art history graduate student Nicholas French, would repair the lion again, Plate said. The statue, which is the third one that's been built on campus since the chapter's inception 124 years ago, is an easy target because of its size and prominence, he said.
Vandalism is nothing new for the members of SAE, Plate said.
"Usually it might just be a bucket of paint thrown on it," he said. But he said the past couple incidents have been more severe.
Warfield agreed.
"When you take a crowbar to the lion, that's crossing the line," Warfield said.
