Police Stop 3 Summer School Students Breaking Into U-Hall Through Grate

Harvard University Police stopped three Summer School students in the secondary school program who were allegedly attempting to break into University Hall a little after 11 p.m. Tuesday night.

According to police reports, one of the students--all of whom are minors--was in possesion of a burglar's tools and dangerous weapon, a five-inch knife with a handle.

The students were not arrested and the Summer School will handle the situation administratively, the police report said. Because the students are juveniles their names cannot be released without their permission.

Police said that the students removed a grate behind the John Harvard statue and jumped down to a basement opening to the building, which houses the offices of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Basement Grate

Several officers and proctors climbed down into the well under the grate and discovered that they could enter the building, as a crowd of Summer School students sitting on the steps of University Hall watched.

A proctor at the scene said the three students told the police that they had gone down into the grate because they were "curious."

A student at the scene, who asked not to be identified, said that many Summer School students had been exploring the Yard that night "because they were curious about Harvard." The student added, "We were climbing trees and stuff like that."

Serious Thing

After sitting the students down at the foot of the John Harvard statue, a police officer told the three that if they had not been Summer School students they would have been arrested.

"This is a very serious thing," he told the students. He said that "technically all three of you should be arrested," adding that "the dean will review the situation and if he feels it's warranted we will come and get you."

Summer school officials did not return phone calls yesterday.