Damage puts the wooden teeter in hiatus
PHOTO BY MEGAN KROEKER
Closing the Spring 2018 semester, a wonderful surprise appeared as the centerpiece of our Forest. A large wooden teeter-totter gave students and faculty alike a childhood joy away from the stresses of tests, papers, and grading. However, it was suddenly nowhere to be seen. It became lost to our presence but not to our hearts.
The history of the teeter-totter began with the Office of Spiritual Formation. According to Pastor Angulus Wilson, OSF had purchased it a few years ago. Although OSF lent it out, they were not the ones responsible for placing it for open enjoyment.
Upon its arrival, the teeter-totter received great attention. However, it could only withstand so much student play before it was damaged. Though Facilities had originally brought it out, they were ultimately the one who chose to remove the piece from The Forest.
Deseri Garza, the facilities office manager, commented that the removal happened during the summer because it needed repair; one of the seats had begun to splinter from wear and tear.
Garza stated, the teeter totter was placed in The Forest primarily to offer some fun to the students of FPU. Megan Kroeker, a sophomore on campus, greatly enjoyed the teeter-totter and found herself to be disappointed upon seeing it gone.
“I looked out there and it was empty. People were just studying and there was no teeter-totter. It was really sad.” Kroeker went on to tell how she and her friends would race to the totter to try to fit as many people on it as possible. “It was the spot that everyone would gravitate to and you would always see it on people’s Snapchat stories because it was so much fun.”
There is still a possibility that Facilities will have time to attend to the totter so that it can be repaired and returned to The Forest. Brian Bonner, a senior, expressed disappointment to the sudden removal as well. His memory with the teeter-totter was getting stuck on top and having to find his way down. Brian longs for its return and that “everyone treats it with respect so that [Facilities] can keep it.”
