HSA Loses One-Third Of Its 600 Refrigerators; Theft Thought a Possibility

Harvard Student Agencies (HSA) is missing about 200 refrigerators--roughly one-third of its total inventory--and officials of the agency are unsure whether thefts, bookkeeping errors, or a combination of the two are to blame.

A Problem of Paperwork

Sources close to HSA reported yesterday that some refrigerators may have been stolen from the agency's warehouse on Western Avenue near the Business School, but Stephen E. Pollack '77, president of HSA, said yesterday he believes the problem is one of "paperwork."

"They're not lost," Pollack said. "We just don't have as firm a grasp of them as we should."

Room-by-Room Search

One HSA official said last week that the refrigerator agency's bookkeeping methods had been "grossly incompetent."

HSA employees initiated a room-by-room search in several Houses and Yard dormitories last Wednesday, sparking protests by several students and administrators. At Currier House the senior adviser ordered HSA to suspend its search after two students complained that their own refrigerators--which HSA never owned--had been tagged with notices threatening repossession.

Barbara G. Rosenkrantz '44, master of Currier House, said last night she had complained about the search on Wednesday to Francis E. Lawton, assistant dean for resources, planning and facilities, and had raised the issue at a masters' meeting.

The tagging of privately owned refrigerators was only part of the problem, Rosenkrantz said. "I'm much more concerned about their entering students' rooms when they're not there, in direct violation of House policy," she said.

HSA obtained permission from Lawton for the search and its searchers were accompanied at all times by Buildings and Grounds employees.

"We certainly didn't do it underhandedly," Pollack said last night.

Daniel Steiner '54, general counsel to the University, when questioned on Wednesday about the legality of the search, said he could not comment until after the holiday weekend.

The manager of the refrigerator agency, Clarence Martin '77-3, could not be reached for comment yesterday, but a source close to the agency said that HSA's search had discovered "nowhere near 200" refrigerators.

Pollack said that HSA officials first discovered the gap in their inventory several weeks ago when they counted only 400 order cards on file after the agency completed its fall deliveries. Officials thought the agency owned 600 refrigerators.

Pollack said that the most recent inventory was conducted last spring.

HSA did not have enough refrigerators to service all applicants this fall. At one time the waiting list held 180 names, Pollack said. The agency rents refrigerators for about $50 per year, the fee varying according to the model.

No HSA official contacted this weekend knew whether HSA was insured against refrigerator theft, and none would estimate potential replacement costs.

However, a former manager of the refrigerator agency, Edward N. Bothfeld '76-4, said that a new counter-refrigerator with five cubic feet of space, comparable to many HSA models, costs about $135.

Possibility of Theft

One source close to the refrigerator agency said that at least some of the missing units must have been stolen from the HSA warehouse. "It's awful hard just to lose 200 refrigerators," the source said.

Daniel Del Vecchio '77, general manager at HSA, said that if refrigerators had been stolen from the HSA warehouse, the thief would not have necessarily been an employee with a key. "During the day you can get in pretty easily," Del Vecchio said last week.

Several HSA officials maintained that the 200 refrigerators could be forgotten in House storage areas or be sitting in dormitory suites without current contracts. HSA does not remove refrigerators from suites each spring, but hopes instead the next year's occupants will decide to rent the refrigerators they find in their rooms.

Two HSA officials said the agency could simply have lost track of which suites still possessed refrigerators.

"It sounds like a lack of good clerical bookkeeping," Del Vecchio said last week.

In early October HSA fired an assistant manager of its refrigerator agency, Fred Wei-Han Houn '79, apparently for not properly fulfilling his responsibilities within the division. Houn charged at the time that HSA had acted "unfairly, unethically and malignantly" and said he might appeal his firing.

Yesterday Pollack said that the firing was "unjust" and that Houn and HSA had come to a "reconciliation." Houn's dismissal was only partly related to the case of the missing refrigerators, Pollack said.

Pollack said the death of a close friend of Martin, the refrigerator agency's manager, at the beginning of the school year had taken Martin away from his job at a crucial time and left Houn with too many responsibilities. It was then that the agency fell behind in paperwork, Pollack said.

The notice HSA employees left on refrigerators in dormitory rooms said the units would be "removed very shortly" with "no advance notice" if payment was not received "immediately."

Lawton said he did not see the notice before granting approval for HSA's search, but said that if he had framed the message, he "would have been a little more diplomatic."

Del Vecchio said last week that HSA would probably ask Lawton to allow them to enter suites to remove unrented refrigerators.

Lawton said last week that if he received such a request "the first thing" he would do would be to "get on the telephone and call Dan Steiner."

Florence Pike '80, a Currier House resident, said she complained to a tutor after she returned from classes Wednesday and found a notice on her refrigerator threatening repossession by HSA.

"I got it as a birthday present on September 24," she said yesterday. "I still have the receipt."

Archie C. Epps III, dean of students, said yesterday he had received one complaint about the searches Wednesday but had not had time to investigate. Dean Fox also said he had not had time to learn the facts of the case.

Del Vecchio attributed the tagging of privately-owned refrigerators in Currier House to an "overzealous" employee of HSA.

The employee could not be reached for comment