A little bit of romance is about to leave Iowa State — looks like Lancelot and Elaine will be getting the boot.

If the swans don’t produce young by next spring, it seems likely that they won’t be keeping students company on the traditional “three times around the lake” outings any longer.

The birds will probably be glad to get away from the people who lock them up, tease them and infringe on their territory.

It’s just like Iowa State to desire the bigger, better swans — the ones that can really hoot up a storm.

Too bad we don’t want to make the necessary effort to provide them with the environment they need.

ISU replaced the old mute swans with trumpeter swans in 1995, but we didn’t realize how different the more musical birds are.

Trumpeter swans need more room and more privacy. They like to wander, so they require a fence or some other protection from passing cars and other dangers.

ISU’s solution was to fence the swans into a corner of the lake, but nobody is happy with that solution.

The birds are cramped, and we sometimes experience small pangs of guilt at the thought of their plight.

Let’s not be selfish, folks.

The swans are here for us to enjoy. It’s like your grade school bus driver used to say — riding the bus is a privilege, not a right.

We don’t need or deserve the swans, but if we are going to keep them here, we do have a responsibility to treat them humanely.

We can either extend the fence and give the swans most of Lake LaVerne or deport them to a different lake.

As many would probably object to fencing in the entire lake for aesthetic and other reasons, the best solution seems to be to take Lancelot and Elaine to a new home and find some mute swans to take their place.

Watching the swans is not a joyful experience right now, anyway. Who wants to witness two birds pacing restlessly back and forth behind a fence all day?

It would be nice to keep the swans because it would help promote efforts to restore native wildlife.

That’s what the ISU Trumpeter Swan Restoration Committee would like to happen.

Lake LaVerne is a man-made body of water, however.

It isn’t native to any wildlife, except ISU students.