Outraged students have started a petition urging Penn to repair a crack in the button next to Van Pelt Library as part of a campuswide anti-blight campaign.
The four-hole button, designed by Claes Oldenberg, has been a staple on campus since its unveiling in 1981.
However, due to structural flaws, the button broke into two parts shortly after its arrival, with a large crack now running down its middle.
Despite the artwork's prominent defect, there are no plans to fix it. This has left many community members stunned and disappointed at Penn's inability to confront the architectural blunder.
College sophomore Abraham Michael, who started the petition, said that the crack is one of the main drawbacks to being a student at Penn.
"Penn students want routine and order, and the button is an affront to that," Michael said.
According to Michael, eight students have already signed the petition.
College sophomore Ryan Conman, one of the signatories of the petition, said the crack hurts Penn's image.
"What's a prospective employer going to think when he or she sees the kind of institution Penn has become?" Conman asked.
Michael and Conman said they hope to present the petition to President Amy Gutmann and the Board of Trustees later this month.
If neither the Board nor Gutmann takes action, Michael said that he would consider secretly gluing the button back together.
He noted that he has already begun hoarding bottles of Elmer's glue.
Many faculty members are also in support of an effort to clean up the University's tarnished image.
"The button is an embarrassment and a blight to the campus," Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said, adding that it makes prospective freshmen choose Princeton instead.
"If Penn can't even fix a button, how are prospective students supposed to believe we can provide a world-class education?" Stetson asked.
Still, many community members are unaware of the button's defect.
"I don't really ever pay attention to things like that," Wharton senior Jamie Paci said.
She added, "I think it only appears to be broken. Just because it appears that way doesn't mean that it really is. Who's to say?"
Maintenance and Facilities officials were unavailable for comment, but recently said that innate differences between men and women probably account for many broken buttons around the country.
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