Radcliffe College Coat of Arms Mysteriously Stolen From QRAC

Radcliffe managed to keep its identity in the Weld boat house but not on the Radcliffe Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center.

The Radcliffe coat of arms was stolen last week from QRAC.

Sometime between the evening of April 18 and before 11:30 a.m. on April 20, the coat-of-arms was reported missing, according to John D. Lach, director of the Physical Plant at Radcliffe.

The plaque, stolen once before, was securely attached with six leg bolts. One end of the bolts was screwed to the back of the cypress-carved wood, and the other end was embedded into the brick.

"The thieves must have ripped out the plaque, bolts and all, with long wrecking bars. They only left six large holes," said Lach.

The plaque was last stolen in April 1982. According to Lach, a month later a Medford woman found the Radcliffe emblem leaning against a tree as she was walking her dog in the woods near her home.

Some speculate it was stolen in the middle of the night in a combined effort of at least 2 people. "If the plaque was taken to the ground, the thieves probably used a system of ladders and pullys because it is so large, heavy and high off the ground," Lach said.

"Maybe the robbers stole it while standing on the roof because it was attached near the top of the building," said Patricia Muldowney '84, who works nights at the QRAC reception desk.

The coat of arms hung on the entrance wall of QRAC 10 feet from ground level. It is approximately four feet in diameter and takes at least two people to move it, said Lach.

"I suppose the plaque poses a challenge to get it down from its high position, nevertheless it is a senseless act of vandalism on an aesthetically valued object," said Aida K. Press, Director of Public Information at Radcliffe.

The Boston architectural firm of Hoskins, Scott, Taylor, and Partners, Incorporated designed QRAC in the late seventies. The Sardella Sign Company hand carved the emblem for the buldings's dedication in October 1979.

Several news releases and fliers concerning the robbery are circulating and anyone with information on the location of the plaque should call John Lach or the Harvard University Police Department.

According to Harvard University Police Department Deputy Chief Jack W. Morse, police are actively investigating the case but possible sources have yet to be revealed.