Annenberg To Remain Closed This Week

Annenberg Hall—the only dining hall open on campus for the hundreds of summer school students and proctors—will be closed for the remainder of the week due to the leakage of dust generated by the construction in Loker Commons into the dining hall’s food preparation area.

Most of Annenberg’s kitchen is located in the basement of Memorial Hall. Loker Commons, where the Queen’s Head Pub is scheduled to open this winter, shares the basement.

Summer School Dean of Students Christopher S. Queen sent an e-mail to proctors just after 9 p.m. today announcing that the dining hall would be closed for the next three days, following its unexpected closure for dinner this evening.

He said that breakfast would be served in Dudley House’s Lehman Hall from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. tomorrow, and that lunch and dinner would be served “picnic-style” on the lawn outside of Annenberg from 11:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. respectively.

Arrangements for Thursday and Friday would be announced tomorrow, he said in the e-mail.

At 4:40 p.m. today, Queen had sent an e-mail to proctors telling them that tonight’s dinner had been cancelled due to the dust leak, and saying that “the dust must be tested as a precaution to rule out any hazardous substances.” He also asked proctors to go to Annenberg at 5 p.m. to explain the situation to students.

At 5 p.m. tonight, students began arriving at Annenberg. Most were told to return for a barbecue on Annenberg’s front lawn at 6:15 p.m.

The Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) staff also bought fruit for the students from the HUDS-organized farmer’s market in front of the Science Center.

Those students who had final exams, classes, or review sessions at 6 p.m. were given $7.50 vouchers that they could use to purchase food at the Greenhouse Café in the Science Center.

—Staff writer Paras D. Bhayani can be reached at pbhayani@fas.harvard.edu.