Harvard Is a Dangerous Place

Cambridge is not safe. Even the lush, verdant lawns of Harvard Yard have ceased to be a haven from crime. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Cambridge was ninth in violent crime in Massachusetts in 1995.

Although violent crime levels have remained constant over the last 20 years, this year witnessed a number of particularly troubling incidents on and around the Harvard campus. First, in October, a student was assaulted on Flagg Street--just a few paces from his residence in Mather House. He was threatened at knife point, beaten and left with a cut over his right eye and multiple bruises on his face and head. Just two weeks later, the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) revealed that a female student jogging on Memorial Drive was raped in broad daylight. This spring, there was an attempted sexual assault on a female student on Linden Street about 11 p.m. And over the course of four months this winter, thieves broke into Matthews Hall 32 times, several times entering student rooms and stealing valuables.

Faculty members have been targets as well. Kennedy School of Government Professor James R. Russell announced last fall that he and a friend were victims of an attempted assault near the Charles River in September. Russell openly criticized the Harvard Police for making light of security issues.

We are sorry to say that the quickest response to these events came not from administrators but from students. Several undergraduates formed the Harvard Alliance for Safety Training and Education (H.A.S.T.E.), which has already sponsored events such as the "Take Back the River" run and a "Model Mugging" seminar. In addition, H.A.S.T.E. convinced the Undergraduate Council to sponsor the Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) System, making a course that once cost $20 free for all undergraduate women.

HUPD also took some modest steps to curb campus crime. Recently, it established a corps of officers on bicycles who now patrol the area, and it also set up a police station in the Yard, allowing officers to respond more quickly to emergency calls.

But more can be done. We do not expect the HUPD to eliminate crime in Cambridge, nor do we assume that as Harvard students we will be sheltered from the realities of city life. Nonetheless, the administration and the police department must try harder. From most locations on campus, blue light emergency phones cannot be seen. We have repeatedly called for better lighting on campus. The intense bulbs that light up the Yard like the noonday sun during Commencement Week quickly disappear when the wealthy alumni and expensive chairs depart. House security guards are on duty from 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.--hardly the most dangerous times of night. In addition, guards sitting in isolated superintendents' offices--or even worse, at Tommy's House of Pizza on Mt. Auburn Street--cannot effectively monitor houses with multiple and scattered entries like Leverett, Quincy and Winthrop. We need more guards on duty all night long.

We appreciate the Undergraduate Council's generosity, but Harvard, not its student body, should ensure that RAD is free for undergraduate women. Perhaps the administration can dig up the funds from the free aerobics classes offered at the Malkin Athletic Center. Students need to learn to defend themselves before they start turning cartwheels.

In addition, it is deplorable that HUPD spends time breaking up student events and parties when it could be devoting its energies to crime prevention. HUPD is quick to disperse armies of security officers when there is a midday wedding in the Memorial Church or an ethnic studies protest in the Yard; but when students need to walk home by themselves at 3 a.m., there is rarely a police officer to be found.

Campus security will no doubt remain an important issue in the years ahead. We urge HUPD and the administration to follow the students' lead by taking some simple steps to keep Harvard safe.