Student Room Care 'Unimpeachable'

Intensive publicity and strict enforcement of rules regarding the condition of undergraduate suites is effectively preventing damage to newly renovated rooms the dean of the College said yesterday

Students who moved into the five upperclass dorms renovated last summer for $18.5 million have closely followed rules against painting and using nails, contrasting the behavior of students who entered two renovated dorms last year, added John B. Fox Jr.

He described student treatment of the newly repaired suites as "unimpeachable."

"There's been a real turnaround in the way people are taking care of rooms," the dean added, during a highly unusual press conference. "We feel as if we've made a breakthrough."

Without this improvement, "In about five years, we would have rooms in the same shape as before," thereby requiring more large-scale repairs and escalating student room rents, he added.

The better treatment apparently reflects the success of a strict tightening in the College's damage rules this year.

House superintendents have periodically checked rooms in the five renovated dorms--Adams, Claverly, Leverett, Winthrop, and Quincy--to check adherence to the College policy which forbids students from using anything except adhesive putty and molding hooks on the walls of renovated rooms.

In addition, students have received repeated reminders and warning about the renovations and damage charges through notices from Fox, superintendents and House newsletters. House residents had previously been "really unaware of the implications of what was being done," explained Fox.

Frequently students have had to pay for repairs, although total charges for this semester are not yet available.

Since Harvard's $50 million renovation of the aging Houses began three years ago, charges to students suite damage have steadily risen: from roughly $3500 in 1980-81, to $13,377 in 1981-82, to $46,338 in 1982-83, according to Associate College Dean Martha C Gefter

"Before the renovations, if a student drove a nail in the wall, it was one bole in 25 and no one got charged for that," said Fox He added. "We [now] mean business."

"We're not necessarily looking for higher income. We're looking for people to be have," Gefter added

Lowell House and half of Winthrop House underwent a complete exterior and interior overhaul in the summer of 1982. Last summer, the College completed work, on Winthrop and renovated Adams House, the old portions of Leverett and Quincy Houses, and Claverly Hall.

Fox called yesterday's rare press conference after being pleasantly surprised while touring one-fourth of the renovated rooms during the recent winter vacation

"Generally speaking the care students were taking with the rooms was unimpeachable and that intrigued me," said the dean

"I was really kind of shocked last Christmastime because of treatment the newly renovated rooms [in Lowell and half of Winthrop] had received from the students," he added, describing "quite generous holes knocked in the walls when trying to hang rugs and move refrigerators."

Students living in renovated rooms yesterday acknowledged a heightened awareness of College rules, but some described the policy as too strict and enforcement inconsistent.

Adams House Committee Chairman Joseph P. DiNunzio '84 said, "As soon as they realize the College had spent a lot of money on the renovation, people have taken better care of their rooms."

He added, "I suppose fear [of charges] has been part of it."

But Morgan K. Belford '85, who was charged $615 earlier this year because he and his roommate had painted their newly renovated room grey, said the College should "permit reasonable modifications."

He and several other students also criticized the unannounced room checks. "I find it really rude when someone comes into my bedroom in the morning without even knocking," he added.

While several students said they had not been charged for nails in their newly renovated rooms, others reported having to pay as much as $80. One pair of roommates in Quincy said they gained permission to install hooks for their costs, while a student in Adams said he returned to his room one afternoon to find his posters taken down and a note saying not to use masking tape