Dust Causes Quincy Closure

Hungry Quincy House residents were forced to seek sustenance in neighboring Houses Friday as a result of a renovation glitch that filled their own dining hall with dust.

The dining hall first shut down at breakfast time on Friday and remained closed until Saturday morning.

Crista Martin, director for marketing and communications at Harvard University Dining Services, said the eating facility was closed because of safety concerns.

“Dust got into the dining area and, as a safety precaution, they closed down the dining hall until they could clean it up,” Martin said.

The dust resulted from ongoing construction to make the House more accessible for disabled students, according to Robert Mitchell, spokesman for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

The construction, which began over spring break and will proceed through the summer holiday, will make Quincy one of the most handicap-accessible Houses along with Currier and Pforzheimer.

Even with Quincy dining hall’s temporary closure, students did not have a hard time finding alternative sources of food.

“The other houses aren’t that far away,” said Tina W. Hwa ’09, who ate in Leverett House instead.

The dining hall reopened for a continental breakfast Saturday morning.

“The air quality was restored. There was no evidence of contamination, and the facility was completely cleaned,” Mitchell said.