What's five feet tall, weighs 100 pounds, is made of fiberglass and will soon be roaming the UB campus? A buffalo, of course.
Similar to the Herd About Buffalo fundraiser organized in Western New York three years ago, the Student Association is holding a contest to design a life-size $1,500 buffalo that will be painted with the winner's design and displayed somewhere on campus.
"It's really about UB and UB pride," said Adam Sherlip, the SA Assembly chairman. "That's the main focus, what it's all about."
Sherlip said he hopes to have all decisions concerning the design, painting and placement of the buffalo done by Dec. 1. Twenty-five designs were submitted during Spirit Week when SA set up a table to publicize the event. The Student Affairs Committee will choose the winning design.
Meanwhile, SA is accepting submissions and debating who should paint the undecorated bison once a design is chosen.
"We think it should be painted by UB students," said Sherlip. "We don't need a professional to see whether or not someone can paint."
Another decision to be made is where the buffalo will reside once decorated. The Capen Hall lobby, the Promenade, the second floor of the Student Union, and the front of the Student Union are among the leading candidates, according to SA officials.
But other students had their own ideas on where to install the finished bull.
"I think we should put it in the stadium - in the end zone," said senior aerospace engineering major Arik McGruder.
Kara Maloney, a sophomore psychology major, said UB's display is a good way to relate city life to university students.
"I think students forget they're a part of Buffalo when they're here," said Kara Maloney, a sophomore psychology major. "This will help assimilate UB into Buffalo culture."
"This campus is pretty standard," said Frank Marino, a junior international business major. "I think it'll be a nice touch to have something that the students did."
Some students, however, did not show the same enthusiasm for the project.
"There's already a buffalo in front of the Center for the Arts," said Ben Mannion, a sophomore political science major. "And for something that costs so much and involved so few people in the purchasing decision, it's a poor decision."
Siobhan Counihan, a freshman undecided major, took up a different gripe with the fiberglass beast.
"It's all good and well to try to instill school spirit in the student body, but the buffalo is not our school mascot. The bull is," said Counihan. "Someone should remind (SA President) George Pape of that fact."
Sherlip said he was not concerned about the possibility of vandalism if the buffalo were placed outside, and added that the Assembly is leaning towards placing it in front of the Student Union where the SA's electronic - and no longer operational - sign is located.
"We have that Buffalo in the CFA loop and it's been vandalized minimally," he said. "I honestly don't think students are going to get paint and go out in the middle of the night just to deface a buffalo."
SA purchased the fiberglass bison from the same group that manufactured the 152 Herd About Buffalo buffaloes, which were each sponsored, designed, displayed around the city and finally auctioned off for charity in 2000.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
