A Madison icon marking over 30 years of campus and community history from the frozen waters of Lake Mendota was vandalized early this week on the University of Wisconsin campus.

Jen Limbach, president of the Hoofers Council, said the replica of the Statue of Liberty, which is constructed from Styrofoam and plywood, remains repairable because the vandals did not damage the interior structure.

The plywood used to stabilize the statue from the rear was dislodged and extensive damage to the exterior support structure was sustained sometime Sunday night or early Monday morning, she said.

She also said the vandalism is unfortunate because of the extensive time from volunteers required to erect the statue every year.

Because Lady Liberty is stored in pieces in the loft of a barn at the UW equestrian team’s stables, Limbach said each trip to transport the pieces back to campus runs about three to four hours, with about 16 hours total spent just in transit.

The statue requires nearly 24 hours of labor to construct on the ice of Lake Mendota, she said.

Though the damage poses an obstacle to the statue’s appearance in the Hoofer’s Winter Carnival, Limbach said the statue could be repaired because the pieces of the statue are largely intact.

“We’re dependent on volunteers, and some people put in a lot of time each year,” she said. “We’re certainly going to change how we think about putting her up in the future.”

Ald. Bridget Maniaci, a former Hoofers Winter Carnival planner, said Hoofers leaders may explore their options for housing the statue during repair, with the basement of the new Union South as a leading candidate.

Lady Liberty has had a history of vandalism since it was constructed in 1979 as a tenet of the short-lived Wisconsin Student Association’s Pale and Shovel Party’s platform.

The statue was entirely burnt to the ground in 1979 and was rebuilt in 1980. The Lady later spent years shuffling between storage facilities under Dane County ownership before being sold back to Hoofers for $1 in 2009.

Maniaci said she is confident the statue will be restored.

“It’s such an iconic cultural legacy of the university and the city, which reflect the heritage of the campus community,” she said.

Sgt. Tom Sankey of the Dane County Sheriff’s Department said citizens should contact the non-emergency line at 608-255-2345 if they have information about possible suspects for the vandalism.