HUPD Issues Warning After Several Adams House Dorm Thefts

Varnel L. Antoine, a resident tutor in Adams House, thought he had lost his backpack before realizing someone had gone through his items and turned on his printer. Approximately $8,000 worth of property was stolen from his suite in Randolph Hall on Saturday night — including a laptop, cash, and medical equipment.

Antoine was one of at least four residents of Randolph Hall whose property was stolen that night. The Harvard University Police Department sent a University-wide warning email to affiliates on Sunday afternoon.

HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalano wrote in the email that the department is “actively investigating” the Randolph burglaries and is “increasing high visibility patrols in and around campus.”

While Kate E. Lebuhn ’26 got ready for bed and her roommate slept in the next door bedroom, an unknown individual broke into their common room. The person stole a wallet and a backpack containing identification cards, a laptop, an iPad, and her organic chemistry homework.

“I just started looking around, and I realized it was not anywhere,” Lebuhn said. “Then I called HUPD when I realized we’ve been broken into.”

Lebuhn said that while the theft is “frustrating,” she is more concerned about potential safety issues.

“It’s kind of weird to think that someone could get into your building and literally be directly where you sleep,” she added. “Had I opened the door at the right time, I would have been confronted with a stranger who was stealing my stuff, and I would have been cornered in my room.”

Adam D. Blind ’26, who lives in a neighboring dorm room, said he returned to Randolph after a parent’s weekend event to find his backpack and laptop — where he had locally saved files for midterm assignments – missing.

These incidents come almost a year after Randolph residents raised concerns about lax security in Adams House. In March, four undergraduate students reported more than $8,000 worth of valuables stolen from their dorms — with tutors and Adams residents adding that the Randolph gate often closes improperly.

Catalano wrote that in order to prevent theft, residents should keep their doors locked and avoid holding outside doors open for strangers or allowing strangers to “piggyback” on their access card.

Antoine said that when he left his room last night for 90 minutes, he did not intentionally leave his door propped open, but that sometimes the door does not close all the way if it is not intentionally pulled shut.

“I’m always going to double check now that my door is closed,” Antoine said. “It’s unsettling to know that someone has been in your space uninvited.”

Blind echoed Antoine’s sentiments, saying it was disconcerting that an unknown individual entered his dorm, a “place where students should feel most safe.”

After realizing his belongings had been stolen from his dorm — whose door had been taped — Blind said he felt “pretty defeated.”

“I just went ahead and filed a police report,” he added.

Blind said the experience was “super frustrating” and “disheartening.” He hopes to see systemic changes — such as increased checkpoints in Randolph, and key card access to student dorms rather than keys.

“There’s no checkpoints for you once you’re in the building,” he said. “So I think that might be a reason this played into it, because all it takes is to get in the front door and then you’re in the rest of the building.”

Lebuhn said that it is “saddening” that there’s often nothing that can be done after a theft occurs on campus.

“They don’t have any sort of system in place that kind of catches people who come to your dorm and steal your stuff — there’s no security cameras, and I’m not saying that I want security cameras because I don’t know what that would entail exactly,” she said.

“It’s frustrating because it happens, then you realize there’s nothing you can do,” Lebuhn added. “Even though someone fully walked into your dorm and stole your stuff.”

—Staff writer Sally E. Edwards can be reached at sally.edwards@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sallyedwards04 or on Threads @sally_edwards06.

—Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at asher.montgomery@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @asherjmont or on Threads @asher_montgomery.