Freshmen Put Behind Bars

Freshmen have been eating behind bars at the Union since yesterday morning, when workers installed an eight-foot iron gate across the entryway that opens directly into the Union Dining Hall.

Andrea Swift, food service supervisor at the college dining halls, said Dining Services had the gate installed to protect the dining hall and the objects inside--including paintings, tables, and the chairs that were all moved to the second floor during a prank last week.

Dining Services plans to open the gate during mealtimes so students can walk through the doorway but will keep it locked at all other times, she said.

Until yesterday, the open entryway allowed free access around the clock to the Union dining hall because the main doors to the Union are always kept unlocked. That made it the only dining hall on campus with no way to close the eating area between meals.

Swift said her office started planning to install the gate at the beginning of this school year.

Dining Services considered drawings of many proposed gates in search of the design which would best blend in with the stone vault around it and "the feel of the historic building." They decided on a classical iron gate built mainly of vertical bars, said Swift.

The gate is divided into two hinged door sections that swing open from the middle. The vertical bars extend beyond the top of the gate in a series of miniature spires that rise from the outside and peak in the center.

As freshmen finished breakfast yesterday morning, workers were already drilling holes into the stone frame that surrounds the passage. After fastening the two dull black door sections in place, they painted the gate glossy black. By lunchtime, the paint on the gate was almost dry.

The passageway is used both as an exit from the dining hall and as a means for diners to access the smoking room during meals. Directly opposite the Union's main door, it is also used as the entrance to the interior of the hall during special functions. Before the gate was installed, the entrance was regularly blocked by a red velvet rope like those commonly found in movie theaters.

Swift said the installation of the gate was not intentionally timed to coincide with the Head of the Charles race this weekend, although the administration plans to take many security precautions for that event.