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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Ben Kirbo competing in an outdoor meet. (Photo courtesy of gofrogs.com)
Ben Kirbo: TCU's pole vault prodigy is springing new heights
By Madeleine Thornhill, Staff Writer
Published Apr 25, 2024
TCU sophomore pole vaulter Ben Kirbo has already set new program records, but he says he is far from done.

University to remove Frog Fountain in May

Frog Fountain will soon be dismantled to make room for residence hall construction, but it will return once construction is complete and necessary repairs have been made to the TCU landmark.Frog Fountain will be disassembled around the middle of May, said Harold Leeman, director of major projects.

Leeman said the fountain is long overdue for repairs, including fixing some problems with water leakage, and that it’s convenient to do the repairs now since it needs to be moved during construction.

Frog Fountain has needed an upgrade for about five years now, said Chancellor Victor Boschini.

Leeman said Frog Fountain after construction will be different, and the lily pads are probably the only part of the current fountain that will be kept after construction. The pool will not return, he said, and will probably be destroyed during residence hall construction this summer.

A new pool will be built for Frog Fountain, and it will be incorporated into the redesign of the front of the Student Center, Leeman said. He said the fountain will sit closer to the Student Center than it does now.

Construction in the area around Frog Fountain will make the area more pedestrian-friendly, Leeman said, and the circle drive will be eliminated. The rebuilt Frog Fountain could be placed where the circle drive passes in front of the Student Center, he said.

The lily pads will be stored at the Physical Plant during residence hall construction, Leeman said, which will begin June 1.

Frog Fountain should be reinstalled in November 2007, once residence hall construction is finished, he said.

Marcus Nicholson, a junior modern dance major, said he thinks waiting for the construction around campus to be completed will be worth it.

“It is only leaving temporarily, and it’s making room for more housing,” Nicholson said. “I was put on a waiting list because there wasn’t enough housing on campus, and it’s good that there will finally be more of an opportunity for students to live on campus.”

Frog Fountain was built in 1969, and has never been moved, according to library archives. It received a mechanical makeover in the mid-1980s.

Daniel Rivera, a senior accounting and finance major, said he resists changes to Frog Fountain because it is representational of the different stages a student goes through in college.

“It is a TCU icon, and they should leave it there,” Rivera said.

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