O Sully Ross, Truly, Should I Trust Thee?

Lawrence Sullivan Ross, 1918, Bronze, by Pompeo Coppini, courtesy of University Art Galleries, TAMU website

If you were to ever cross the beautifully appointed Academic Plaza, it is only with a most inadvertent eye that you may not notice the bronze statue of a confident personage, clad in a stately fashion, which sits on a massive podium in the near centre of the plaza; yet I must say that however magnificently the flattering portrait of Lawrence Sullivan Ross, the third president of Texas A&M University, stands, it is nigh impossible to not remark the brass coinage at his feet, which at times appears to even blur the outline of his shoes.
Had I not been acquainted with the university’s traditions by being one of its more curious students, I might have well presumed that it indeed is a convenient site to abandon any spare change, and that this school abounds with exceptionally kind students, who are cordial enough to agree on a single place where they could offer nominal succour to the less fortunate; but, it can be found out soon enough that the statue, nicknamed “Sul Ross” (or “Sully”), is actually used as a sort of charm by the concerned student to bring him good luck for any upcoming exam or assignment, provided that he first sacrifices whatever change he finds it necessary to further his fortune.
No sooner had I discovered that some days into my first year that I endeavoured to try it, and so, the morning of the second exam of the semester I left two pennies on the podium, or rather one on each of Sully’s feet. During the entire day, no doubt surfaced in my mind over the test-material, excluding the natural nervousness just minutes before the performance. Nevertheless, much to my wonder, I did not do as well as I thought Sully’s blessings would provide, and I had begun to soothe my disappointment—if not melancholy—before my classmate beside me mentioned how glad she was to have left a penny by the statue’s shoes because she had done too great on it and beyond her expectations. I never even hinted at my own trial of Sully, lest my shoulders should bear any more shame.
It can little be imagined of the many confusions I thereupon was thrown into, which varied from utterly doubting the statue’s beneficence to utterly assuring myself of my ineptitude, and the rest of the day was spent in answering the question, which asked whether I had put a suitable amount down to compensate for my apparent ignorance. The conclusion of these musings resulted to be only a more justified assurance of my own folly for having put too much faith where studying should have been enforced. Notwithstanding, I resolved to try it once more a few weeks later in a different class, because I refused to believe that the propitious mysticism surrounding the statue should be founded on mere superstition.
It might be difficult to imagine how truly despondent I became when I came to find that I had done exactly as well as I could attribute to my studying, despite my having put an entire dollar of pennies at Sully’s feet, which I confess earned me more than a pair of raised brows from passers-by. Thereafter, I dare say I even shunned the Plaza altogether out of sheer grudge, however, it was not long ere I heard of a report which absolutely racked my reason. It follows thus: a youth one night engaged in a most unwholesome carouse, but remembering by some peculiar manner that he was due for an exam the day after, he visited Sully only to churlishly drop at the base whatever he pulled out of his coat’s pocket. One would think that such indecorum should negate any luck soever, but one would as easily become perplexed to find this young man’s performance not only completely unaffected, but far above par! Indeed, he scored the second highest grade out of the entire course, but it has not yet been determined so many weeks later  if the gum wrapper, paper-clip, Canadian Quarter, and ball of lint scattered around Sully was truly his doing.
As the end of the spring semester approaches, Sully, I’m afraid, will only incur heavier trust in the shape of coins, and howsoever it is tempting otherwise, considering my experience and a host of veritable legends, I can only suggest to the reader that he perhaps should study nonetheless, in case Sully be fickle on exam day.