Dressed in a black and white striped dress and an orange fire warden vest, Grammy Award winner Christina Aguilera stands in all her two-dimensional glory behind the confines of the New School’s Equipment Center.
“She’s a legend,” said Karen Sepulveda, a senior at The New School for Social Engagement.
Despite being an employee of the Equipment Center, Sepulveda has never heard the full story of Christina’s origin. But Bruce Bickley, Lab Supervisor at the Equipment Center, will always tell the story of finding Christina if someone asks.
At the end of a semester six years ago, when things were being thrown away in a locker-surrounded area, Aguilera, who is sometimes referred to as Xtina, was spotted “Chilling in a classroom” by Bickley on the ninth floor of Arnold Hall.
Bickley saved Christina from a lonely classroom and thought it would be funny to drag her into the Equipment Center. “I guess no one wanted her,” he said.
Who once was discarded as trash, Xtina now represents the EQC as their profile picture on email. A former manager was fascinated by Christina, who had been stationed at the Equipment Center longer than he had, so he decided she should be the face of the production equipment hub, according to Bickley.
In order to achieve her legendary status, Christina Aguilera has withstood adversity. Today she stands comfortably in the back of the EQC, but her life has not always been so easy. Daniel Perez, an Equipment Center worker, once taped Ms. Aguilera against the wall so her head would pop out of the checkout counter. Perez broke Xtina’s foot, forcing her to “walk with a limp,” according to Bickley.
“I’ve known her since I was an undergrad. Now I’m a graduate student and she’s still the same, but now her foot is broken,” said Sepulveda.
While the “Dirrty” singer is often a spectacle, she has often blended into the background and surprised the staff when they notice her. Bickley has sometimes thought that the standee is a new employee then quickly remembers that it’s just the former “The Voice” judge.
“Every time I walk back there I think some lady is hiding back there,” said Vanessa Clifton, another staff member of the EQC.
Despite scaring quite a few workers and withstanding injuries, there are no plans to see Christina leave her post.
Stavroula Psonis, Lab Supervisor at the EQC, has been with Christina for quite a few years. “She’s not going anywhere,” she said.