Reporter's Notebook

00001, 00002, 00003, 00004, 00005, 00006, 00007, 00008, 00009, 00010--According to statisticians, there is a 50 percent chance that one of these numbers is someone's authorized access code for the University's long distance phone system. Luckily, officials say that research shows students are unlikely to randomly try codes just so they can make expensive phone calls without paying for them. Of course, as one official says, nothing "is foolproof. We are trusting students. We hope we don't need a police force." No kidding, so do we.

"I'm really disappointed. I wanted to vote for [Lt. Gov.] Evelyn Murphy, but felt I couldn't because I wanted to vote against [John] Silber, so I went with [Attorney General Frank] Bellotti."

--Pilar C. Olivo '88, a volunteer with the Murphy campaign, after learning that Silber had upset Bellotti and taken the Democratic Party's nomination for governor.

"He's a radical. I'd be afraid with him in the office."

--a Republican backer of U.S. Senate hopeful James W. Rappaport, discussing Silber.

"John Silber is going to be John Silber, and I think the voters voted for John Silber. I don't think he's going to change."

--Daniel Hart, a Silber aide, on election night.

Old Habits Die Hard: Students, of course, aren't all too pleased about Harvard's new alcohol policy, which is being drafted to comply with new federal legislation. But now it seems that some of Harvard's house officials aren't so happy, either. According to several eyewitnesses, Eliot House Master Alan Heimert '49 told a group of sophomores at an open house this week that he was a "man of tradition." And if the beer flowed at Harvard in the 17th Century, he reportedly said, it would just as surely flow today.

"I don't think it will be a revolutionary change to the degree that students are determined to drink and will probably continue to do so."

--Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57, discussing the College's new alcohol policy

"It doesn't make a difference if they work in a non-profit. In order to attract them, they have to pay them what the securities industry would pay them."

--Steven Langer, a compensation expert for a consulting firm, discussing why Harvard's two top salary-earners--venture capital managers Michael Eisenson and Scott M. Sperling--each took home more than $1 million in the 1988-89 fiscal year.

Protocol Problems: When three high-profile Harvard officials walk through a door, who walks first? This seemingly simple conundrum was enough to confuse three of Harvard's most well-known officers--President Derek C. Bok, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Brendan A. Maher and Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III--for at least a few seconds as they stood outside the Faculty Club entrance early yesterday. The three were there to attend a one-day conference on Afro-American Studies, and, after a brief conference, apparently decided that Bok--who was the senior official--should hold the door.

"As a teacher, I'm worried about the quality of the experience. Four hundred is the number above which the course loses its effectiveness... It becomes more and more of an anonymous mass."

--Assistant Professor of Music Graeme Boone, who teaches Literature and Arts B-71, "Jazz: An American Music," discussing why he is using a lottery to once again pare down the size of his class.