Currier Narrows, Thickens Mattresses

Sex at Harvard was already a narrow window of opportunity, and for many Currier House residents that window just got a little bit narrower.

Some Currier residents returned to learn that their new Harvard-issued mattresses were thicker but also narrower.

According to measurements performed by The Crimson, the mattresses are 33.5 inches wide compared to the more typical Harvard mattress which is 35 inches wide. They’re also 2.5 inches deeper.

Yard Operations Manager of Administrative Operations Zachary M. Gingo confirmed in an e-mail that the mattresses are 1.5 inches narrower than the old ones.

“They are 1.5 inches narrower because we sourced these new mattresses from a different vendor than the one that supplied the old mattresses,” Gingo wrote.

Gingo wrote that the approximately 200 new mattresses were ordered as part of a normal maintenance program and through a special request.

“Part of this replacement was done through our normal maintenance program. Part of it was done at the request of the Programs in Professional Education, who supplied the funds to do so,” Gingo wrote.

Currier resident Colleston A. Morgan Jr. ’07 said the narrower mattresses would create certain difficulties for him. “I actually just purchased a full-size mattress because this smaller one will adversely affect my personal life,” Morgan said.

Other students complained that the mattresses no longer fit perfectly in the wooden frames. They also said it was easy to fall off them.

“They’re half-size,” said Kristen D. Lozada ’07. “I’ve almost fallen off a couple of times already, and I’ve only been here one night.”

But some students praised the increased thickness of the new mattresses.

“The mattresses are really comfortable so that makes me care less about the width,” said Veronica T. Golin ’07.

About a dozen students have already e-mailed CurrierWire—Currier’s e-mail open list—looking for an additional mattress or a larger replacement.

“People are definitely more desperate for double beds lately,” Chelsey J. Forbess ’07 said.

Patricia G. Pepper, the Currier House assistant to the Masters, has planned a group trip to Ikea for Currier residents, but she said the trip has nothing to do with mattress concerns.

“We are sponsoring a trip to Ikea and if students want to get a mattress there that’s great, but they’re not connected,” Pepper said.

Currier residents may see some reprieve from the mattress woes next year though.

“We’ll definitely push for a return to the wide mattresses when we do our next round of purchases over the summer,” Gingo wrote.

—Staff writer Evan M. Vittor can be reached at evittor@fas.harvard.edu.