The bust-sized Albert Einstein statue reported missing Monday afternoon by library officials has been found. The statue, usually located on the second floor by the newspaper stacks, was returned to the Robert E. Kennedy library Thursday morning by the University Police Department (UPD). Commander Lori Hashim of the University Police said a call came in Wednesday night from a group of males who read about the missing statue in the Mustang Daily. She does not know if the males who returned the statue are Cal Poly students and does not expect the UPD to investigate the matter further.
“They said they found (it) last spring quarter behind the construction management building,they thought it was a discarded piece of junk,” Hashim said, “(and) we are convinced that the two guys that found the statue are telling the truth. I applaud the two young men that brought it back when they realized they were in possession of stolen property because that was not their intent.”
Special Collections Assistant Catherine Trujillo did inventory of the library’s art exhibits on June 28 and said she remembers seeing the statue three weeks ago. But still, she said, the action of returning the statue to the library says a lot about the students at Cal Poly and their inner aspirations.
“I’m surprised it came back to tell you the truth. You just never know with things like that. Kudos to the students for bringing it back, I could just give them hugs,” Trujillo said. “(The Einstein statue) is the unofficial mascot of the library. He represents knowledge, innovation and that’s what the library is about and we’re glad to have it back.” Trujillo said
However, Hashim still wants to send a message to everyone.
“Regardless of if it was a joke or a dare, it was still the taking of someone else’s property and that’s a theft,” she said. “You see anybody committing a crime, whether it’s someone taking another person’s property or some other crime, call us.”
For now, the statue will remain under lock and key on the second floor in the administration area of the library until further security decisions can be made.