So far, the club’s involvement in fundraisers for the 15-foot stainless steel statue has offered students opportunity to become part of history in constructing “a national monument with international impact” says Cheryl Proulx, student and club founder.
Inspired by Viktor Frankl’s best–selling book “Man’s Search for Meaning”, the statue’s purpose according to Proulx is “to be a bookend to the east coast-located Statue of Liberty.”
With future plans to build a 300-foot Statue of Responsibility along the west coast in San Diego, the statue is meant to reflect Frankl’s idea that responsibility must go hand in hand with liberty to ensure freedom is maintained.
The statue’s design, created by internationally recognized artist Gary Lee Price, features two hands, each gripping the forearm of the other, symbolizing the relationship between liberty and responsibility.
As Proulx noted, the design’s message also represents “a need to support each other and that we need to give each other a hand-up rather than a hand-out.”
All funds raised by the club thus far have gone to creating the 15-foot tall stainless steel prototype, which, when completed, will become a permanent part of campus in its birthplace of Utah. After completion of the 15-foot statue, the club plans to build a 30-foot statue.
Proulx hopes to encourage more student involvement in the club next semester.
“Students at UVU have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you think about how cool it would have been there, to be a part of building the Statue of Liberty, the students of UVU have that opportunity now to participate in this historical event,” Proulx said.
Similar to the manner in which the Statue of Liberty was funded, members of the Statue of Responsibility Club ask for donations of $1 per person, rather than asking only few people to fund the project. Names of those who have made a contribution will be listed in a kiosk surrounding the statue.
Although fundraising for both statues is the main goal of the club, this is just one of the many projects which Proulx hopes will convey a larger message.
“The point is not just to create a statue to be a cool thing to look at. The point is that all along the way we are doing good works and good deeds in serving one another,” Proulx said.
More information about the Statue of Responsibility Foundation can be found at http://www.mystatueofresponsibility.com.
