Here comes Oscar the Ogre
Hideous for hire
James Anderson
Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: Features
| |
| |
|
"[Oscar] is helping to bring some attention to Phi Theta Kappa," Sigma Zeta President Trevor Moore said.
Oscar has become quite a celebrity on LCC campus while advocating for Sigma Zeta, the LCC chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. The fundraising monster has a profile on Facebook, has spent time in the LCC President's office and has already made an enemy in the math department because of his appearance. Math instructor Vicki Kirkpatrick complained about his presence as a fundraiser to Phi Theta Kappa members.
"For $5, the donor can get rid of Oscar and choose where Oscar's next residence will be," Moore said.
Not all of the LCC faculty and staff have found Oscar's grotesque appearance to be offensive. House Keeping and Public Safety operations manager Kathy Vos deputized the ogre.
"Last year when we got him, we put a Public Safety hat, badge and a belt on him - put one of the [officer's] coffee cups in his hands. We put him back there at the table, like he was on break," Vos explained. "When one of our night officers came on, he 'took a defensive position,' I would say when he opened the door to come into the office. It scared the holy heck out of him."
When Oscar was returned to Public Safety this year via a donation, the return visitor surprised the manager herself. The ogre was placed near the entrance of the building. Vos was working late one night and both times she came in she was completely startled by the monster's presence.
Oscar seems to have a few professional options in the Public Safety field due to his apparent gifts, however. "We thought when [students] came in to gripe about tickets, we could tell them to speak to [Oscar]," Vos said. "We'd get a lot more compliance with parking."
Vos wonders if there is some competition between the ogre and his dummy counterpart, Bob for professional status with Public Safety.
Bob is a rubber dummy torso used by Public Safety for defensive tactics training. He's served as a stress reliever and a baton-training tool. Out of the two life-sized humanoids in the department, Oscar ended up getting deputized.
The controversial monster has definitely made his rounds on campus since his introduction. After the five-dollar donation is satisfied, Sigma Zeta's "Ogre Squad," which consists primarily of honor society members Matt Ray and Tedi Hart, relocates the beast. "… Everyone contributes and fills in, except for one person," Tracy Weimer, Phi Theta Kappa's Communications Officer said. "She refuses to touch him - [Oscar] freaks her out.
Sigma Zeta member Suzi Garcia refuses to reconcile her differences with the big lug. "He's like a monster out of a nightmare. I don't touch Oscar. I don't move Oscar," Garcia emphatically stated. "Last year … I let everyone know right off the bat that I don't want anything to do with Oscar."
Despite the mixed results Oscar has faced, he gets around on campus. Before his visit with Public Safety, he was spotted at the Titan Bookstore and then Chief Financial Officer Greg Morgan's office.
"At one point, we thought he was Greg," Vos said. "This is what Greg looked like when we went through that financial crisis last year."
Oscar was originally the concept of last year's Sigma Zeta President Josh Tishmack. The former Honor Society leader is still on LCC campus, preparing to transfer after Spring term to Linfield College for an Economics degree.
Tishmack was involved with medieval reenactments with his friends when Oscar was originally built as a prop called, "tilt-a-kilt." The prop used to be a regular mannequin. If someone hit the prop in the head, it'd bend over and bare its rear.
Tishmack's friends donned an ogre head to the prop for Halloween later on. The head was made out of paper Mache and wax.
One of Tishmack's friends suggested a fundraiser they used to use that involved a commode (cleaned out) and stuck it in people's offices. Tishmack realized the potential for the variation of that.
What he ended up with was a "… big, ugly life sized ogre," Tishmack said. "He's spent a little too much time out in the sun and his wax melted - he's ugly, scary and kind of funny."
Oscar's Tag:
"You've been Ogred. Say Hello to Oscar the Ogre. In order to say, "Goodbye Oscar," please contact the 'Ogre Squad' at extension 3238. They will ask you for a minimum $5 donation and your choice of Oscar's next destination. If you would not like to make a donation, please call and we will remove the ogre for free of charge. This is a fundraising event for the Sigma Zeta chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, Lane's honor society."
Be the first to comment on this story