The University Police Department responded to a report of damage to the Homer Statue, located on the South Lawn directly in front of Old Cabell Hall, Sunday.
The bronze statue — which was unveiled in 1907 and originally sculpted by Moses Jacob Ezekiel for Amherst College — depicts the blind poet Homer and his student guide. The student guide originally held a lyre, but the lyre is now missing following Sunday’s incident.
“At this time it is unclear how the damage occurred, but UPD is investigating the matter,” UPD Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Rexrode said in an email statement to The Cavalier Daily.
Although it is not confirmed whether or not the damage is a result of vandalism, other statues have been previously vandalized at the University, including one of a seated Thomas Jefferson — located on the Lawn — last April, where the statue was painted with the phrase “Racist + Rapist”.
This is a developing story.
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