Vandals Hit Mather House

Mather House residents were awakened early on Columbus Day as a wooden bench crashed through the superintendent's main office window.

A group of students looking down from the fourth floor told police they saw a white male wearing a dark jacket and white cap leave the Mather courtyard immediately after the crash. The students said he jumped into the back seat of an '88 Chevy Caprice with several people in it.

Mather House tutor Roland L. Dunbrack '85, who was first to the scene, made the initial report to the police. Dunbrack, who said the valuables in the superintendent's office remained untouched, called it an act of "pure vandalism" most likely committed by "people outside of Harvard."

Malicious Destruction

Lt. Charles Schwab of the Harvard University Police Department noted the unusual nature of the "malicious destruction," but said he did not anticipate an arrest.

A worker from Harvard Glass, the 24-hour company contracted to handle all of Harvard's glass-related problems, was on the scene by 4:30 a.m. to board the broken window. He said that despite the early hour the superintendent's office was already getting phone calls from concerned Mather students.

The Harvard Glass worker returned early yesterday morning to complete what he said will be an "expensive" window replacement.