Behind the South House Dining Hall

South House had more than its share of troubles since the River Houses started going co-ed in 1972. What was once an attraction to a number of Harvard men has now become that dreaded read-out on the housing form freshmen receive in late April. "We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore," a megaphone outside Matthews screamed across the Yard two years ago, protesting the assignment of 150 unwilling freshmen to South House. And, not surprisingly the administration reacted to the dissatisfaction in a material way, deciding to allot a few more dollars of the budget to enchance the appeal of the six dorms that surround the Radcliffe Quadrangle. $435,000 of that money went to finance a new dining hall in Cabot Hall, begun in August 1977 and originally scheduled for completion last January.

Eight months and a myriad of headaches later, the dining hall is open, waiting for the first hordes of hungry Quaddies. But it seems the saga hasn't quite ended. Though the administration figures a cost overrun of only about 2 per cent for the project, John B. Cruz Construction, the general contractor for the dining hall, is hurting. John B. Cruz, the owner-director of the company, says the project for Harvard has set his $3 million a year operation back a good two years. And theough he claims a portion of the responsibility, he says Harvard was not at all helpful when delays first occurred. In fact, Cruz claims Harvard is responsible for a considerable portion of the cost overrun because of changes in the original plans, restrictions placed on the monthly cash flow, delays allegedly based on racism and priority placement on some crucial materials. Because he is carrying the entire burden for the cost of the six-month-delayed completion, Cruz is looking into the possibility of future legal action.

He claims the Construction and Management division of the University redesigned the fire sprinkler system in the building from the original spraying system to a sprinkler system that required extensive piping, causing a delay in other roofing work. In addition, he says Harvard procrastinated in its approval of one of the subcontractors by quibbling over the price being asked. In the end, Cruz says, he was forced to seek out another subcontractor, a friend, who was willing to charge a reduced rate. Both the redesign and the procrastination delayed the project two months, he says, because the ceiling and other work on the interior couldn't progress.

Robert Thomas, manager of the Harvard Construction and Management Division refused last week to comment on the allegations.

Robert J. Candela, assistant manager for renovations of the Construction and Management Division, could not be reached for comment.

Thomas F. Duffy, resident inspector for Construction and Management, also refused to comment.

The company project manager's failure to requisition some needed materials at the start of the project due to family problems caused additional delays in items such as steel, an error for which Cruz claims full responsibility. However, Cruz alleges, "Harvard's attitude was that when they saw the job was going bad, instead of helping me by assisting with the cash flow, they thought that I couldn't handle the loss because I was a minority contractor." Cruz explains that the University's contract with him required monthly payments based on his requests. He says Harvard started "tightening the screws" on the money flow, often settling on an amount below his request, making it difficult for him to make payments to his subcontractors.

Cruz blames himself for the low bid he placed for the construction job. He initially submitted one of the three lowest bids for the dining hall because he thought that a small loss on this job would be cancelled out by future possibilities bidding on Harvard jobs. He later reduced his bid by $15,000 during the final negotiations, in order to assure himself of the project. "Through my inexperience as a negotiator, I let myself," Cruz says. He adds that he was also not familiar enough with the type of project to realize that Harvard's six-month schedule was unrealistic. If he were to bid on a similar project again, Cruz says, he would set the schedule for eight to nine months.

Cruz also blames himself for using his own minority workers on the architectural concrete work only because they were black, despite the fact that they were inexperienced. He says he tried to make a morally correct decision, which was, unfortunately, a financial mistake.

The delayed delivery of the bricks is another setback Cruz attributes to the workings of the University. Harvard, he claims, required the bricks to be supplied by the Spalding Brick Company, the same company supplying the newly-constructed John F. Kennedy School of Government. Cruz says the Kennedy School received priority from the University because that contract required that Harvard pay a huge penalty for delay of completion. Cruz says the wait on the bricks forced the masonry to be delayed until weather conditions worsened. Last winter's record storms twice tore down the protective covering and staging needed for the masonry work. Cruz claims that both the brick supply delay and the bad weather caused a two-month setback. Cruz also alleges that Harvard gave the black brickworker subcontractor "a horrendous time" even though he did a very good job. He says Harvard claimed that he didn't have a track record and the architect wrote the University recommending in so many words that he not be hired. "I think it was blatant racism," Cruz adds.

Cruz also says that Harvard lacked sensitivity in dealing with him. When the job started going over the scheduled completion date they threatened to call in his bonding company, a move he claims was motivated by the fact that they assumed that since he was a minority contractor he would go bankrupt. In order to avoid the bonding company coming in, Cruz agreed to settle for the monthly payments the University decided on, rather than the amounts he really needed. He claims he had to settle for the University's decision on the cash for the value of the work because a bonding company call would have jeopardized his future bonding. Francis A. Lawton, assistant dean for facilities, says that it is normal procedure for Harvard to call in the bonding company in the sort of situation that arose in the construction of the dining hail, but he refused to comment any further in the event that legal claims arise.

Cruz claims that Harvard still owes him $30,000 for the job, money he is having a hard time recovering. He plans to meet with University officials later this week to iron out some of the remaining difficulties. Despite the problems he has had with Harvard, he says that he would still work for them, given the opportunity, because they are such a large source of construction projects. "Every large university needs a certain percentage of its work to go to minority contractors," he adds. He would like Harvard to let him bid on other projects so that he can recover some of the money he lost on the dining hall and so he can prove his record as one of the 100 best minority contractors in this section of the country. He adds that his reputation has already been adversely affected by the South House project, despite the fact that the company has earned a good reputation from the contracting work it has done over the past eight years. Cruz says, however, "I don't need Harvard to survive--I've done worse since I've worked for them."

Beyond the bickering over cost and blame stands a light and airy dining hall with a stage at one end filled with white formica table tops and chairs. "I think it's sensational," Shirley K. Broner, assistant to the Master for South House, says. To inaugurate the addition for social purposes, South House plans to hold a Quadrangle Quadrille on September 30. The University, it seems, has succeeded in enhancing the quality of life at South House, but it may well have mistreated the minority contractor responsible for that improvement. It remains to be seen if the Cruz Construction Company can iron out its differences with the University, or whether it will have to resort to legal action.