House Tutors Forced to Move Despite Assurances Otherwise

Despite earlier assurances to the country, resident tutors in the two undergraduate Houses undergoing renovations this summer are being forced to vacate their rooms in order to facilitate the work.

College officials had told the tutors early in the spring that the extensive refurbishing of the exteriors and interiors of Lowell and half of Winthrop House would progress from entry-to-entry, requiring the tutors to relocate for a minimal amount of time.

But with work about to increase to 16-hour double shifts daily, officials decided activity would be too hectic and dangerous for residents.

Officials attributed the change in plans primarily to a 10-day late start and their desire to keep the project on schedule. Associate Dean of the College Martha Coburn also said that the switch was "the sort of experience you expect to have when you're doing something for the first time."

The renovations in Lowell and Winthrop are the first in a seven-to-10-year overhaul of the aging Houses, expected to cost a total of about $35-40 million.

The tutors in Lowell and the Standish half of Winthrop House will move into Claverly Hall, the dorm on Mt. Auburn St., this weekend. Harvard has contracted a moving company to handle the relocations, which were announced last weekend.

A number of tutors have left Cambridge for summer study and travel, and a few forced to move said they look forward to getting away from the noisy conditions.

But others criticized the last-moment change, saying it was indicative of the kind of haphazard planning which had caused the project to begin late. "They had sworn up and down all along that we didn't have to move." said Anne Montgomery, a Lowell House tutor. "[It's] sort of typical, because the whole schedule seems sort of loopy."

Roger J. Cayer, project manager of the renovations, said, "I think their sanity will thank them in the end," when asked about the relocation.

He added that it was "too early to say whether the renovations could be completed by early September. "There are lots of things going on, so needless to say, there are lots of problems."