Let Us Into Langdell

Every reading period, the greatest challenge facing Harvard students is finding an ideal place to study. Dorm rooms hold a million distractions: the phone, the Internet, the roommate who has given up on schoolwork altogether and who wants a sympathetic ear for her adventures from last weekend. The Yard and other outdoor locales may be picturesque, but the temptation to sunbathe and/or fall asleep can be overwhelming. House libraries get crowded quickly, Lamont is more conducive to people-watching and flirting than to concentrating on reading, and Widener is just too damn spooky. Cabot is strictly for the "serious" student--bring your pillow and your toothbrush and prepare to camp out for two weeks.

But a few yards west of the Science Center stands a welcome haven for those with nowhere else to turn. With its beautiful high ceilings and cozy study nooks, Harvard Law School's (HLS) Langdell Library would seem to be the perfect solution. If you can stand the clackety-clack of those ubiquitous computer terminals and are willing to refrain from socializing with everyone else who has also "discovered" Langdell, you're golden. That Bible sourcebook might get read after all.

This May, however, Langdell will no longer be accessible to undergraduates. Fed up with dangerously large swarms of pesky college students--we hogged 450 of 600 available spots during reading period this winter--HLS announced last week that when reading period begins, only law school ID cards will work at the library. Exceptions will be made for those who are actually using the law library's collections for research. The news comes as a crushing blow to those who might now have to trek all the way up to Hilles to find some peace and quiet.

It is understandable that a sudden influx of "outsiders" might be slightly annoying, especially when law students show up to work and are turned away at the door because some uppity first-year has stolen their seat.

Perhaps, if we searched deep within ourselves, we could even come to terms with our expulsion. But HLS went one step further than necessary--instead of merely banning us from Langdell, they felt the need to rub salt into our wounds by attaching a series of thinly veiled threats to their already unpalatable press release.

Langdell officials noted that they would begin by assuming "the honesty of students" but would move quickly into defensive battle mode if it seemed as if people were trying to outmaneuver the system by getting into the library under the guise of needing to conduct research.

Possible counterattacks include requiring undergraduates to report which professor they need to access the collection for (ostensibly to check up on the information), and keeping students' backpacks at the front desk while they look for specific material, effectively preventing anyone from sneaking in some Children reading on the side.

Is such animosity really necessary? HLS forgets that law students have full access to all of Harvard's libraries, including those which are designed primarily for undergraduates (namely Lamont). Should we in turn stand at the entracce to all our favorite haunts and turn away "foreigners" a la Adams during interhouse (the gong would be a nice touch, too)?

It is too late, however, to prevent the inevitable avoid all-out war which will erupt along the Science Center-Paine border if Cabot is ever frequented by students who breathe too loudly and who leave before midnight. HLS should consider capping the number of undergraduates in the library at any one time--for example, allow in only 150 students with college IDs. Langdell is big enough for everyone to coexist peacefully--let's stop the militancy before it gets out of hand.