INTERIOR DECORATING

The outward appearance of Sever Hall has frequently been commented upon as depressing, but such a remark merely shows that the observer has failed to walk inside. Blank, dingy corridors and stairway walls enlivened by heating pipes of dubious aesthetic value, and by the silhouettes of James Warren Sever and his wife Elizabeth. A cheery coat of paint would add immeasurably to the attractiveness of the University's largest classroom building.

Numerous signs attest to the fact that the structure is not of the latest fireproof construction, yet facilities for emptying the building are at best scanty. The wire ladder on the second floor is the single attempt at a means of escape, and this would be difficult to unroll or manipulate, especially as iron bars are secured across the adjacent window.

Benches and chairs are notoriously decrepit in Sever Hall, and present a real source of inconvenience in examinations taken in the classrooms here. New seats and benches, preferably metal ones to prevent further carving, are a practical necessity.

With concerted action aiming at the improvement of the appearance and efficiency of Sever Hall, there would remain one unfinished maintenance task before the Yard could stand as a comparatively modern unit. This is the opening of new doors into some of the classrooms in Harvard Hall. Aside from the danger of fire, there is the more prosaic necessity for getting out of the room quickly to attend following classes, which is a virtual impossibility at present.

The University in making up its new budget must face these pressing demands sooner or later, and a quick elimination of these persisting relics of a past will promote the efficiency of ordinary college life.