UW-Madison: Leon Varjian, teacher and legendary UW-Madison prankster, dies

CONTACT: Meredith McGlone, (608) 263-7523, meredith.mcglone@wisc.edu

LEON VARJIAN, TEACHER AND LEGENDARY UW-MADISON PRANKSTER, DIES

MADISON – Leon Varjian, who as a UW-Madison student spearheaded the kind of inspired goofiness that still colors campus life nearly 40 years later, has died at age 64.

Varjian, a beloved high school math teacher since 1988, was found dead of a suspected heart attack on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at his residence in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey.

One of the stunts he helped arrange ¬- placing the Statue of Liberty on frozen Lake Mendota ¬- ranked as the No. 4 college prank of all time, according to Neil Steinberg, author of the 1992 book “If At All Possible, Involve a Cow.” One reviewer in the History of Education Quarterly remarked, “If there is a single hero in Steinberg’s account, it is Leon Varjian.”

Arriving in Madison in the fall of 1977, Varjian began his assault on staid Wisconsin attitudes just days later. He set up a table on Library Mall and campaigned to change the campus’s name to the University of New Jersey so graduates could claim attendance at an Eastern college.

Prompted by Varjian’s frequent public displays – street theater, handing out tasteless discount merchandise – a member of the Wisconsin Student Association persuaded him to submit his name for a vacant senate seat. Varjian wore a clown suit to his nomination hearing.

He and his friend Jim Mallon then campaigned for vice president and president as the Pail and Shovel Party. The name stemmed from one of their many ludicrous pledges: to convert the university budget into pennies, dump it on Library Mall, then let the students dig in with pails and shovels.

Although the party was entirely transparent about its intention to fritter away student funds – including hosting a 10,000 person toga party and spending $125 for a “Dial-A-Joke” answering machine – some students reacted poorly to the expenditures. The first Statue of Liberty was burned down by a student irate over the perceived waste of money.

In April 1980, after two years in office, Varjian and Mallon announced that they were quitting politics. The beleaguered Dean of Students, Paul Ginsberg, announced that the Pail and Shovel party had drained all of the WSA’s finances: $80,000 in student fees, with an additional $28,000 in profits from selling life insurance and operating a printing service.

“Ginsberg said the often zany party had accomplished what its members promised during their campaigns,” the Associated Press reported. “They are leaving the WSA in shambles.”

Irving Shain, chancellor from 1977 to 1986, got to see most of Varjian’s antics up close – perhaps, at times, a bit too close.

“He came into my office one day without an appointment, just barged in, and rubbed his elbow against my arm,” recalls Shain. “I said, ‘What are you doing?’ ‘I want to tell people I’ve been rubbing shoulders with the chancellor.'”

At a time and place when so many things could seem deathly serious, Shain welcomed Varjian and his Pail and Shovel conspirators as part of a lively university.

“A little amusement on the side is always to be appreciated,” says Shain. “I did not take any offense from what those guys were doing. They were always respectful of the university’s main function, and provided some humorous side effects. I enjoyed them.”

-Susannah Brooks, (608) 262-3846, susannah.brooks@wisc.edu