Lowell House Women Get Peepholes To Guard Against Future Break-Ins

Buildings and Grounds carpenters last week drilled one-way fish eye "peepholes" into the doors of all Lowell House rooms occupied by women as a precaution against robberies.

Zeph Stewart, Master of Lowell House said last night that he asked the Faculty to allocate funds for peepholes in all Lowell House rooms, but was told that the budget could not cover the complete job.

"They said they'd use the funds they had to put peepholes in the women's doors for now," Stewart said.

"It seems a bit discriminatory to me" Stewart said. "This implies that one only have to protect the girls and I think we should protect everyone. Boys get robbed too."

Stewart added that the Faculty would probably provide for peepholes in the remaining moms next year.

Stewart said that as undergraduate woman in Lowell House asked him to request the safety measure following the robbery at Dunster House and the break-in at 22 Plympton St. earlier the month.

Frank A. Lawton, assistant to the clean of the Faculty of the facilities, said that no other House Masters have requested similar safety precautions this year.

All rooms in Leverett House towers and the rooms of women in old Leverett got peepholes last year as part of a program to strengthen security. Kennedy R. Andrew, Master of Leverett House, said yesterday.

Andrew said that women in Leverett also received the production before the male students. "With women in the house, there should be some way to check who's coming in." Andrews said. "We've put peepholes in all the doors to that we can more people around and have more woman."

Security

The Faculty has sponsored several long-range security projects this year. Lawton said, because of "an increasing amount of crime on campus."

Building and Grounds will install new locks in all houses. Several Houses and the Yard dorms now have locked entryways in response to requests from the residents.

Lawton also listed the watchman service -- initiated by Stephen s. J. Hall, vice-president for Administration -- and improved lighting on streets around the houses as recent safety measures funded by the Faculty.

Thomas Tierney, assistant superintendent of Housing and Dorms said yesterday that the Lowell. House peepholes cost from $7 to $10 dollars per hole, and that there are no current plants to install any more in Lowell or in other Houses.

He said that there are now about 150 peepholes in the Houses.