Students witnessed the show of the semester on Saturday afternoon when Furman’s ROTC students shot down a large black and gold balloon suspected of gathering information ahead of the highly-anticipated Furman vs Wofford basketball game. Witnesses say that the balloon was first spotted hovering over North Village Saturday morning.

When the balloon was safely over the lake, President Davis herself issued the orders to shoot it down. Although the school has released a statement assuring the Furman community that no swans were harmed by the wreckage, several students have reported seeing a “suspiciously high number” of black feathers around the lake.

Though administration claimed it was essential for the balloon to be shot down over water, some students criticized this decision. A North Village G resident said it should have been shot down over the apartments. “They’re going to renovate them soon anyways,” he explained. “Maybe this will finally get rid of the mold.” Other students advocated letting the balloon drift towards SoHo so that it could be shot down over Blackwell. “It would save demolition costs and get the replacement building project going even faster,” said a sophomore former resident of Blackwell. “It seems like a win-win for everyone involved.”

The Bell Tower will be lit in red for the rest of the week to symbolize the blood of our enemies and to serve as a warning for any other universities that might consider sending their own spy balloons (so don’t get any ideas, Clemson!).