By Madeline Thompson
Ten microphones, estimated to be worth about $3,000 total, were stolen from the Horn Gallery last weekend. The Horn is working with Campus Safety to locate the missing equipment.
“I discovered the door open Saturday night when I was setting up the sound for a party,” said Head Sound Tech Alex Martin ’13. “I went in there and noticed that the closet was wide open, the light was on and the room was just disheveled.”
Whoever stole the microphones had some knowledge of sound equipment, according to Horn Gallery Co-Manager Kat O’Hara ’12.
The thief “knew what they were doing because they stole all the expensive, really nice microphones and left the cheaper ones,” she said.
After returning the following Sunday morning and taking inventory, Martin called O’Hara. “It appeared that somebody who has a key to [the upstairs storage closet] left the door open by mistake,” she said. Three keys previously opened the closet; one held by Martin, one shared between the sound techs and one held by Horn Gallery Co-Manager David McCabe ’14 (who edits the Collegian ‘s blog, The Thrill). Each was questioned and the keys were returned. Martin now holds the only key to the closet.
Though some sound techs were in and out of the closet over the weekend, the Hornmanagers gave ECO (Environmental Campus Organization) approval to host an Ohio Student Environmental Coalition retreat in the Gallery over the weekend. The conference was the last event scheduled at the Horn, and its participants were all questioned about the theft.
Those participants “are not connected with the community here,” O’Hara said. “So they might not feel as much of an incentive to be honest. I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt.”
The loss of the equipment will have a big impact on the Horn’s ability to host concerts this semester.
“The microphones that are still in the closet aren’t really up to standards for a professional band to play with, and our first professional concert is on Wednesday, Feb. 15,” O’Hara said. “That’s two weeks from today, so we’re in a bit of a panic mode.”
The theft will not directly affect the Black, White & Red AllOver party scheduled for Feb. 11 in the Horn, since the event does not require sophisticated microphones. “But it’s an issue because there are so many Phebruary Phunds events going on,” O’Hara said. “It’s not the quality of the equipment that’s left – there’s just simply not enough of it.”
The sound techs submitted a supplemental budget request to the Business and Finance Committee (BFC) to replace the equipment in time for their next events. They will find out next week whether the BFC granted their request.
Additional reporting by Erin Mershon.
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