Room 13 Receives 4th Bomb Scare

Room 13, a peer counseling organization located in the basement of Stoughton Hall, received its fourth bomb threat in a month at 10:22 p.m. Saturday night.

The police did not evacuate Stoughton Hall Saturday night, although they evacuated and checked the building the last three times bomb threats were received, Lt. Donald J. Nunn of the Harvard Police said yesterday.

There are no strict rules regarding the evacuation of a building after a bomb threat, and evacuation decisions are made on a "case to case basis," Nunn said.

Chief of Harvard Police Saul L. Chafin said yesterday that "a few detectives" have been investigating the calls since the first threat on January 10. Chafin added that while it was difficult to catch callers, the Harvard police had been "lucky in the past" in apprehending suspects.

No Abuse

Police spokesmen refused to discuss the specifics of the investigation, but co-director of Room 13 Michael A. Dellarocca '84 said yesterday that the threats are neither being recorded nor traced. The threats are "terse" and non-abusive, and the Room 13 staff members "cannot get a word in," Dellarocca said.

Dellarocca said the woman making the threats, who identified herself as "Monica" in an earlier call, is not familiar to the staff of Room 13 While prank phone calls and other hoaxes have been common in the past, this is the first time bomb threats have been received by Room 13, Dellarocca added.

The last bomb threat at Harvard was in 1980 when the police received a call saying that there was an explosive in the Science Center, but no bomb was found.

Giving false information about an explosive is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, Chafin said.

Room 13 is a student-run counseling organization that advises undergraduates on academic and personal problems.

It began in 1971 as a drug counseling hot-line operating from room 13 in Mather House, and has since expanded its staff to 30 members.