Bell tower to provide new home for old GCSU tradition

The GCSU campus will likely feature a new landmark next year. A bell tower housing a historic navy bell would combine an old tradition with a new one.

“We just found this old navy bell in the basement of Beeson Hall,” SGA President Zach Mullins said, “and I decided to get this project going to construct a bell tower.”

The history surrounding the navy bell is hazy, but the basic details are as follows: The bell was given to the school by Congress in the 1980s thanks to a combined effort from former vice-president of student affairs Kurt Hofmann and former-Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia. The bell was then housed in the Centennial Center and rung to support the then-Georgia College Colonials basketball team.

However, the bell was put into storage in 1990 because the school joined the Peach Belt Conference, which prohibits artificial noisemakers during athletic events.

Mullins has been pushing the bell tower issue for almost two years now, but only recently has the project begun to take shape. He worked with Amy Amason, vice-president for External Relations and University Advancement, to create a plan for funding the project.

“The entire cost will be covered through fundraising efforts, which should begin as soon as possible after the entire project is approved, which should be very soon,” Mullins said. “The fundraising will take place through the summer and into next year, and we hope to have the tower completed by this time next year.”

The tower will be located just outside the Centennial Center near the main entrance doors. The design, drafted by Kim Umoh, a University Engineering Drafter, will feature white columns, brick supports, and a gold dome on top. The bell, to be hung from the center of the dome, will be rung to commemorate not only Bobcat basketball victories, but major events on campus such as commencement ceremonies as well.

The bell tower would put GCSU in the company of larger schools such as the University of Georgia, with its chapel bell, and Georgia Tech, with its steam whistle, both of which are rung following football victories and for special occasions on their respective campuses.

“The goal with this is to not only continue to create a larger sense of campus ethos,” Mullins said, “but to genuinely create a new tradition that will continue long after we’re gone.”

Posted by Preston Sellers on Apr 30 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry