A Knight’s Tale

November 23, 2009 by Maria Roncal 

The story behind the mysterious suit of armor on the Student Union’s third floor

The third floor of the Student Union is pretty safe.

It could be because of UNLV’s airtight security.

It could be because there isn’t much to steal besides batches of markers and butcher paper from the SORCE room.

Or maybe it’s because hardly anybody knows that a third floor even exists.

But it’s probably because of our secret guardian.

The third floor houses The Rebel Yell, the SORCE room, the Office of Civic Engagement and Diversity, the CSUN offices and the Student Life Scheduling office, where our knight stands guard.

It’s all a facade – no one is really inside that suit of armor – but it does its job of keeping the bad guys at bay. Well, away from the third floor at least.

All that knight really is… is a glorified piece of office décor.

Usually, desk décor comes from Office Depot, Target or yard sale bins. But this is not the case with our champion.

The mere sight of him sparks immense curiosity over where this mysterious knight came from.

He doesn’t hail from too far away, said Diana Russell, marketing manger of Sodexho, whose offices are also on the third floor of the SU. To be exact, his homeland is the Excalibur.

“We used him for a medieval-themed banquet we catered a couple of years ago,” Russell said. “The Excalibur donated him to us and we’ve kept him ever since.”

Trish Naumu, catering director for Sodexho, elaborated on the knight’s origins residing in UNLV’s annual catering showcase.

“When we needed decor for our ‘Renaissance Room,’ we contacted the food and beverage director at the Excalibur. They allowed us to rummage through their basement vault and load our truck up with random décor,” Naumu said. “The knight in shining armor was just too precious for us to let go – he was great office gossip for a short time and he’s been here ever since.”

Ever since this nameless cavalier’s arrival two years ago, he has generated a good amount of water cooler chatter.

“Everyone wonders where it came from, thinking that it has some crazy story attached to it,” Naumu said. “We just let them think whatever they want to. Comments like ‘OK. That’s random’ or ‘Is it real?’ [and] ‘Could I put it on?’”

But the knight is more than just a suit. Naumu references to it as “the guardian of the third floor cubicle area.”