Quadlings Celebrate Renovations

Although the $32 million Quad renovations project will not be finished until later this fall, residents of Currier, North and Cabot houses celebrated the Quad's new look at an informal party on Saturday.

Originally scheduled to take place on the new North House terrace, the party was relocated to a patch of grass at the southern end of the Quad, because the terrace is under construction and off-limits to students. The rest of the lawn is still a giant mud hole and mountain.

College officials had estimated that the Quad construction would be done by the opening of the school year, but the project has been running behind schedule since last spring.

Although Saturday's party was originally planned to honor the project's completion, organizers elected to postpone the ceremonies until later this fall, when the repairs should be done. Most of the inviteddignitaries, including President Bok and RadcliffePresident Matina S. Horner, elected to skip thisparty in favor of the later one.

But their absence did not deter more than 700Quadlings from declaring 1987-'88 "The Year of theQuad" and enjoying a barbecue and an outdoorconcert by the Harvard Band and an undergraduategroup called "The Banned."

Sporting baseball caps emblazoned with "TheYear of the Quad," students and tutors plantedmore than 200 tulip and daffodil bulbs around theQuad to commemorate the party. "We got 400 bulbsbut we didn't want to give them all out becausewe'll have another planting in the spring when theother area is done," Cabot House Master Myra M.Mayman said.

"Bulb planting is living testimony to thespirit of beauty that the Quad represents," saidShawn A.MacDonald '88, who supervised bulbdistribution.

In addition to postponing the full festivities,the delay in construction has caused somecongestion in North House. North House's grill,library and house offices are not yet usable and39 North House students are living inHarvard-owned apartments until the renovations ontheir rooms on the fourth floor of Comstock Hallare completed.

"Even the students who didn't get a good roomare not too unhappy, but I'll be happy whenComstock Hall is done," said North House Co-MasterHanna M. Hastings.

But no one objected to having a party while theconstruction is still continuing. "I think it'sexcellent they're doing this even though therenovations aren't done," Cabot House resident AmyC. Sandler '90 said. "They're making the most ofwhat they have."

"You don't get three houses doing this at theRiver," said Cabot resident Lee Polikoff '90