Statue stolen from Union

Between 5 p.m. Monday, April 1, and 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 2, a valuable statue was stolen from the courtyard behind the Indiana Memorial Union. The bronze work, entitled "Soul," was donated to the University and has been located in the courtyard for the past ten years. It is worth an estimated $25,000.\n"Soul" is a four-and-a-half foot statue of a man in a loincloth reaching toward the sky. It was stolen from its marble base in a courtyard outside a lounge on the mezzanine level, near the tree suites. The area around the IMU was searched, but the statue was not recovered. \nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said IUPD is publicizing the loss of the statue in hopes of recovering it. \n"We are mainly concerned with recovering the property," he said. "The monetary value of the statue is secondary to the aesthetic value."\nMinger said he suspects students stole the statue as a memento of the final NCAA game of the season. He added that statue thefts have occurred in the past, including the fish statues in Showalter Fountain. \n"This year we had the Physical Plant remove the fish from Showalter Fountain," he said. "But we can't remove every statue on campus."\nMinger said he believes the statue was removed by a group of students.\n"This work is of considerable weight and difficult to conceal," he said. "It would have taken at least two or three men to remove it, and they would have had to stop and rest."\nFreshman Eldred Stubbs said the theft is unnecessary.\n"It's really messed up that students are stealing school property," he said. \nGraduate student John Randall also expressed concern about the motivation of the theft.\n"I understand that people were upset about losing the basketball game," he said. "But stealing school property is really unnecessary. All it does is increase the cost of attending school."\nGraduate student David Zimmer remains hopeful that IUPD will recover the statue. \n"I hope they are able to erect the statue again," he said. "The artwork here is meant for all students to enjoy."\nAnyone who believes they were a witness to this crime or believes they may have information that would assist in the investigation is asked to contact the Investigations Section of the IU Police Department at (812) 855-4292 or send an e-mail to Detective Richard Seifers at rseifers@indiana.edu.