Plaster and Water Don't Mix

The morning shower plans of several Cabot House residents fell through yesterday, the ceiling that is.

Eliot Hall resident Steven R. Maeglin '86 discovered a gaping two-foot hole in the ceiling of the second floor bathroom when he went to take a shower this morning.

Sometime last night, the plaster fell from the ceiling, crumbling onto the shower stall floor, where Maeglin found it this morning. The bathroom, which Maeglin shares with his floormates, was off limits to residents this morning, fearful of the plaster chunks.

Maeglin said that he had watched the steady decay of the shower ceiling and that the ceiling of Eliot Hall's other second-floor bathroom may well be next.

"Thank God no one was in the shower," said Maeglin. "I'm fed up basically. Few people understand what conditions are like up here."

Sunday night, the floor's other bathroom was plunged into darkness when the lights failed. Residents complained yesterday of exposed wiring, faulty plumbing, and walls which Eliot Hall resident Christine A. Burns '88 said are "virtually see-through."

Cabot House Master Myra A. Mayman said that the problems are severe, adding that the situation will improve when proposed renovations to Cabot House are completed.

Last fall, Eliot Hall's roof received patchwork repairs when leaks began dripping down into the rooms of fourth floor residents. Cabot House Superintendent Gene Ketelhohn said that while he will do all the repairs he can, "any cosmetic repairs" will have to wait until the renovations.

A $27 million renovation project is planned for the Quad, but so far only Cabot House's Briggs Hall has received funds. Renovations on Cabot's Barnard and Bertram Halls began last week, and according to Ketelhohn, repairs will start on Eliot Hall in June.

"There is lots of room for improvement," said Burns. "This dorm is a disgrace."

"You've got to get a picture of this," said Maeglin. "If this was on the front cover of the Globe, nobody would believe it was a Harvard dorm unless they lived here."