The unveiling of the new wildcat statue took place this Thursday in front of the Bell Memorial Union (BMU).

The event was kicked off with a blessing from the Mechoopda Tribal Chairman, Dennis Ramirez. “Bless the students, staff, faculty and President Hutchinson throughout the day, we are all here together as one,” said Ramirez.

Alumni Association past president, Aaron Skaggs, Athletics Director, Anita Barker and AS President, Alisha Sharma were also guest speakers at the event. “This beautiful statue is a stunning representation of all wildcats and certainly embodies the values that our student-athletes strive for every time they put on the uniform,” said Barker.

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— Alejandra Fraga (@alifragster) April 19, 2018

President Gayle E. Hutchinson and Mayor Sean Morgan concluded the ceremony by declaring April 19th, the third Thursday of April, as Chico State’s new Wildcat Spirit Day.

“We invite all members of the Chico community to join Chico State and rally at this location annually in a demonstration of the importance of the special relationship between this city and this university,” said Morgan.

Alejandra Fraga can be reached at [email protected] or @alifragster on Twitter.