In the context of this artwork, explore the Later history of the History.
Alma Mater, given its symbolic connection with the university, has been at the center of many protests at Columbia. During the student protests in 1970 in reaction to the Cambodian campaign and the Kent State shootings, the statue came to represent the failures of the university's administration, which included the continued gentrification of the Morningside Heights neighborhood. In the early morning hours of May 15, 1970, a bomb was planted on the statue. The resulting explosion caused significant damage to Alma Mater's throne. The damage remained until 1978, when the statue was removed from Columbia, the throne was recast, and the sculpture was cleaned, refinished with a new patina, and returned to the Low steps.Other noteworthy instances of protest involving Alma Mater include during the Columbia University protests of 1968, when the statue was routinely vandalized and a sign which read "Raped by the cops" was placed on Alma Mater's lap, and during the protests against the Iraq War, when students draped a black shroud over Alma Mater's head and connected wires from her hands to the ground in reference to the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal.Alma Mater has also been at the center of many pranks, including one instance in 1928 when the crown atop her scepter was stolen (and later returned), as well as in October 1984, when the scepter was removed in its entirety by Cornell students. It appeared on the doorstep of the Dean of Students of Cornell in a shoebox two months later, and was returned to the university by hand by a Cornell professor the next day. In retaliation for the theft, the Ezra Cornell statue on Cornell's campus was doused in Columbia blue paint soon after the return of the scepter.
Alma Mater protests at Columbia Cambodian campaign Iraq War Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse Columbia blue Columbia University protests of 1968 patina Columbia University Kent State shootings Cornell Ezra Cornell statue Morningside Heights