Violin stolen from locker

A violin was stolen from a secured locker in the Music Practice Building some time between 6 p.m. March 7 and 6:30 p.m. March 9. The theft, the second this week in the music school, left no signs of forced entry or keyed lock, according to an IU Police Department report.\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said the police are still looking into the possibility of this theft being linked to the previous music school thefts. The value is still unknown.\nThe School of Music rented the violin to senior Yu Mi Ko in January. Ko said she first noticed the violin was missing from her locker Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. \nKo said she doesn't plan to bring any more valuable items to the music school anymore. \nWithin the last year, thefts at the Musical Arts Center and the IU School of Music include $1,000 in checks and cash from a lockbox, a $20,000 violin, a $5,000 violin bow, $5,400 of video equipment and cash stolen from the dean's desk of the music school. Most recently, an undisclosed amount of money was stolen from the Musical Arts Center March 9. \nMusic School Violin Professor Miriam Fried said he sympathizes with Ko because of the sentimental value of the instrument, in addition to its monetary value.\n"If my violin was stolen, it would be absolutely terrible," Fried said. "A violin is something you live with and learn to interact with." \nMinger said the instrument was stolen from a locker in the first floor lounge of the Music Practice Building adjacent to the main school building. \nFried said this theft is especially disheartening because most music school students and faculty thought the problem had already been solved.\n"I thought the security was pretty good," Fried said. "After the first theft, they changed all the locks on our doors, and I thought they were safe. However, what happened before was in locked rooms as opposed to a locker."\n-- Contact senior writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.