Reign the Mermaid

Reign the Mermaid, October 2020

Located on Brock Commons in the University Village, Rein is one of the mermaids found throughout the city of Norfolk. It is the only one found on the Old Dominion University (ODU) campus.

History

ODU, Tidewater Community College, Norfolk State University Mermaid, 2000

In 1999, ODU alum Peter Decker, Jr. and his wife, Bess, had the idea of promoting the city of Norfolk by placing mermaids throughout the city in public spaces. Kevin Gallup, ODU art instructor and class of 1985, designed the initial 130 mermaids that were placed throughout the city.

In 2000, a mermaid sponsored by ODU, Norfolk State, and Tidewater Community College (TCC), was dedicated on the TCC campus in downtown Norfolk near MacArthur Center mall. However, there was no mermaid on the ODU campus until 2020. In 2019, the Student Government Association (SGA) came up the idea and funded the initiative to bring a mermaid to the ODU campus. The mermaid was named “Reign” to mirror the ODU chants of “Reign On” and “Monarchs Reign.” Dedicated on October 28, 2020, the mermaid was designed by ODU art student Brooke Benham and was fashioned by artist Georgia Mason, a former ODU student. As part of a new campus tradition, students are invited to “claim their crown” by taking a photo of themselves under the crown before they graduate.

Resources

  1. ODU Photographic Collection, Old Dominion University Libraries Digital Collections, Old Dominion University Libraries.
  2. Old Dominion University Photographic and Multimedia Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Perry Library, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 23529.

References

  1. Mace & Crown, Old Dominion University.
  2. Minium, Harry and Joe Garvey,, ODU Unveils Its Mermaid, News @ ODU, 28 Oct 2020, Accessed 14 Feb 2021.
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