The Pail and Shovel party put their submerged Statue of Liberty together on a frozen Lake Mendota. The Statue of Liberty was built on Lake Mendota in February 1979 by the Pail and Shovel Party, which had gained control of the Wisconsin Student Association in the spring of 1978. The original statue was torched by an unknown arsonist ten days after it had been constructed. A new, improved statue was erected in February of 1980.