Student Group Space Moved For Renovations

The planned renovations of Harvard Yard basements this summer will leave some student groups without access to their current homes, but Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II pledged that groups seeking summer space will be housed at locations throughout Harvard Square.

For Muslim students at Harvard, McLoughlin’s pledge is significant because it means that they will not have to travel past Central Square to the nearest mosque in order to pray.

And for groups relying on campus Internet servers, McLoughlin’s pledge means that e-mail lists will remain running throughout the summer.

McLoughlin said that he initially hoped to move the groups seeking office space to 1414 Mass. Ave., normally used by the Office of Career Services for recruitment interviews. The building also houses a Bank of America branch.

Because that site is an office building, however, groups would only be able to access this space from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and not at all on weekends.

For the Harvard Computer Society and the International Relations Council, which are both seeking storage space for servers, McLoughlin proposed using the Science Center machine room or 60 Oxford St., which now houses the University Information System and the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences. According to McLoughlin, both spaces would have the necessary climate conditions and security precautions for computer storage.

He also emphasized his dedication to finding prayer space for the Harvard Islamic Society (HIS), although he has not secured a space yet.

HIS currently holds a prayer space in Canaday Hall basement. According to HIS President Khalid M. Yasin ’07, the Canaday space is used daily by 30 to 40 people during the summer.

According to McLoughlin, student groups have been cooperative about summer space limitations.

“I was so impressed with the way that they’ve just been so nice,” McLoughlin said. “They’re not complaining at all—which I’m very appreciative of, since we’re trying not to inconvenience them.”

The moving will be done by Fox Relocation Management Corp.

Group offices are to be packed by May 27. Student groups that need swing space were required to apply by April 7.

—Staff writer Elaine Chen can be reached at chen23@fas.harvard.edu.