Hughes said that makes keeping track of the system more difficult.

"I made sure [the sound system] was where it was supposed to be. I can't check every day to make sure it's still there," Hughes said. "Lots of people could have gone in and taken the system."

Many council members said they are not particularly worried about the system's disappearance.

"I am not concerned yet--I'm sure someone borrowed it and will return it," said Samuel C. Cohen '00, co-chair of CLC and a vice presidential candidate.

Timothy J. Daskivich '01, also a CLC member, agreed.

"It's not a crisis. It's common practice for it to be taken out and not returned for three weeks--but usually [the] U.C. would know about it," he said.

"It's not 'missing,'" said Trevor S. Blake II '00, the other CLC co-chair.

"Someone's probably waiting to bring it back--it is large," he said.

Price said that he will be following up on what appears to be a breach of council protocol.

Price added that he has sent an e-mail to all council members and that he hopes the system will be returned.

"If someone on the U.C. or a [student] group has the system, that's fine, we can handle that," he said, adding that if the sound equipment is not recovered by winter break he will notify the police.

Other council members, including those running for executive offices, expressed their deep concern that the council as a whole was not notified earlier that the equipment was missing