Mask & Wig instruments stolen

Sometime between midnight and 2 p.m. yesterday, more than $600 worth of musical instruments was stolen from the Mask and Wig band's pit in the Houston Hall Auditorium, where the band was set up for the group's fall show. The burglary was not discovered by band members until 4 p.m. when they came to Houston Hall for their final run through, a mere four hours before curtain call. At first, rumors circulated that all of the band's musical instruments had been stolen. In actuality, only cymbals, cymbal stands and a cymbal bag were taken. Oddly enough, the thief left more than $1,000 worth of other musical instruments in the auditorium, including the rest of the drum set. The stolen goods belonged to drummer and College sophomore Alex Ferrara. Ferrara, who has been creating this drum set since seventh grade, said he was distraught at the theft. Even more than being nervous about playing in the show with borrowed cymbals, Ferrara said he is "afraid that everyday when I come back, my drum set will be taken apart piece by piece." Details of the theft are few and inconclusive. When Mask and Wig members locked and alarmed the auditorium at midnight Tuesday, after their final dress rehearsal, all the instruments were in place. The only documented entry into the auditorium on Wednesday, according to Houston Hall's Assistant Manager of Student Life Activities Z. Paul Reynolds, was a routine visit by Mask and Wig's piano tuner at 8:30 a.m. Reynolds and Mask and Wig members suspect that the instruments were taken sometime after the tuner was let into the room. When a performing arts group reserves the auditorium, they have the option to request an alarm code from the Office of Student Life, Activities and Facilities. Only the group and Houston Hall coordinators have access to the code. Normally, maintenance crews and others accompanied by Houston Hall staff are the only people who are able to enter the auditorium. Although concerned band members were able to replace the cymbals within 30 minutes, insuring that the show would go on, the missing cymbals affected the group, if only psychologically. Band leader and College senior Sandy Jensen said he finds the theft "ridiculous and unacceptable," adding that he hopes "this sort of thing doesn't happen to anyone else in the future."