Fuel Shortage Will Not Force Calendar Shift

Harvard will not change its academic calendar because of the energy crisis "except as a final resort," Stephen S.J. Hall, vice president for Administration, said yesterday.

Hall's statement came in the wake of yesterday's decision by Dartmouth to stay closed a week longer for the Christmas holidays. Yale, which is considering extending vacation until February 2, will release its plans today.

In view of the unstable energy situation, Hall has called a meeting of representatives from all Harvard schools for Wednesday. The group will draw up contingency plans which would enable Harvard to cut consumption by 15 to 25 per cent within a few hours.

Potential Savings

Hall said, "I think that 10 per cent of our consuption can be saved by cooling buildings at night and especially over Christmas. I believe there's enough potential savings that we shouldn't be forced to close anything down."

Hall has hired a team of experts to survey all of the windows at Harvard. Hall said windows that do not insulate efficiently will be replaced immediately, because prices for storm windows are lower during the winter.

Hall said that he has begun a study of the feasibility of utilizing the heat lost in transfer from the Cambridge Electric Company to the North Yard. "The steam pipes are housed in tunnels to ease repair. Inside, the pipes act like giant radiators," Hall said. "In some places, if we just opened a door, the heat could seep into the building." Hall cited Weld Hall as an example.

Hall said that Harvard gets its power from the Cambridge Electric Company, which converts fuel oil into steam and electricity for the consumer. "The national shortage of fuel oil will necessitate cut-backs," Hall said, adding that "only the extent is undetermined."

Hall cited inadequate control systems and questionable engineering as barriers to efficient use of energy at Harvard. "Often there is only one thermost at for the whole building, which eliminates consideration of the sunny side and the wind in heat allotment."

Most Ivy-League schools are hastily assembling contingency plans for calendar changes if the energy situation worsens. Administrators, however, have reached very different stages of preparation.

James Dougherty, dean of the college at Brown, said, "Our heating system may work and it may not; We'll try to make it." Cornell's dean of the faculty said that he expects a decision on a calendar change from a student-faculty committee within ten days.

Stay With Original

Columbia, Penn and Princeton have tentatively decided to stay with their original calendars. Jean Brownley, dean of the college for women at Penn, said that a calendar change "hasn't been mentioned and I can't anticipate any."

Princeton President William G. Bowen said last week that he did not have the type of information that would necessitate a change "at this point in time."