Man Burglarizes Matthews Hall

On November 30th an unidentified man burglarized the rooms of several students residing in Matthews Hall. Among the items stolen were a bicycle, a backpack, several wallets and a drawer full of socks.

Chris Dewing '95, a proctor in Matthews, said that the burglar entered the room of one of his proctees who lives on the first floor. "He then picked his way through the dorm," said Dewey.

The man then ascended to the fourth floor, where he entered the room of Jessica Hammer '99 and Rachel A. Farbiarz '99, while they slept, Hammer and Farbiarz said.

"Before class we couldn't find our wallets," Farbiarz said. "My roommate realized that she had heard someone come into the room in the middle of the night, but she had just thought that it was one of us going to the bathroom."

Elizabeth K. Ridlington '99, who also lives on the fourth floor of Matthews, saw a man leaving Farbiarz's room. According to a police report, when Ridlington confronted the man, he said, "She kicked me out," in reference to why he was leaving.

A composite sketch made from Ridlington's description of the man has been posted in dorms throughout the Yard as well as some of the upperclass houses.

After leaving Matthews, the suspect allegedly crossed the Yard to Weld Hall where he tried to enter through a window by cutting the screen. The attempt was unsuccessful.

The doors of the four rooms that were entered were not locked.

Proctors and the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) have put up signs warning students to keep their doors locked at all times.

"We're doing nothing more than would have normally been done," said Matthews proctor Auron R. Dinner.

University officials have "augmented" the locks on windows of all first floor suites in the Yard, according to Elizabeth S. Nathans, dean of first-years.

"The Freshman Dean's Office is deeply concerned by any threat to the safety of individuals or the security of property...We are grateful for the assistance of the HUPD in preparing the poster about the Matthews incidents," Nathans wrote in an e-mail message yesterday.

Harvard police did not return calls yesterday seeking comment.