Students find 'SOUL' in local park

"SOUL," a statue that was stolen from the Indiana Memorial Union courtyard last April, was recovered by the IU Police Department Friday.\nThe sculpture, representing an artist's vision of world peace and love, was returned to IMU officials Monday, said IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger.\nAbout two weeks ago, two IU students found the statue in the woods in Cascades Park, 3031 N. Old State Road 37, located on Bloomington's north side, Minger said.\nMinger said the students didn't know what they had discovered until their landlord recognized the sculpture as the missing statue. The students then called IUPD to report what they had found. \nThe sculpture disappeared from its base in the garden the night of the NCAA men's basketball championship game, said IMU Associate Director Thom Simmons.\nOfficials suspect a group of students stole the statue for a "souvenir" of the night, similar to when students took the fish out of Showalter Fountain after former basketball coach Bob Knight was fired. \nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said whoever took the sculpture probably dumped it at the park to get rid of it after they realized its significance.\n"(They) knew after reading the paper that it was a highly valued piece," Minger said. He said they probably placed it where someone could see it and return it.\n"SOUL" was donated to IU in 1989 by its artist, William Snapp. Snapp could not be reached for comment Monday.\nThe sculpture is a 4-foot, 6-inch bronze statue of a man standing on top of the world with one foot in the United States and one in Russia. The statue speaks about the power both countries had in 1963, when Snapp got the idea for the statue's design. Both these countries were working to send humans to outer space and to develop nuclear weaponry at the time. One of the man's arms is reaching up into the sky. \n"SOUL" stands for Search Of Universal Life. \nThe 200-pound bronze statue was returned intact, but it has some "wear and tear from its journey," Simmons said.\nThe base of the statue is bent and needs some repair work. Other than that, damages were not significant, he said.\nIMU employees were preparing to re-cast the statue as part of the renovation and redesign of the courtyard area, expected to be finished this spring, Simmons said.\nRe-casting the statue would have cost an estimated $10,000, he said. \nSimmons said they would not have gone to the expense to replace the statue if it was not important to the IMU and the courtyard area.\n"(The statue) was a gift to the University," Simmons said. "We've received many very positive comments about it. It's a nice piece for the garden."\nMinger said he was happy the case is solved but said without help from the community, the statue might not have been recovered. He said IUPD followed all the leads they received, but it was recovered because the students' landlord recognized it and the students reported it. \n"I think it speaks for the community," Minger said.