Harvard Leaks Like a Faucet

Last week's rainstorm was highly unusual--if it had been snow, it would have been six feet. And if it had been snow, many of Harvard's buildings would have undoubtedly remained a good deal drier. Along with the drama and excitement of the nor' easter came a much more mundane occurrence: massive flooding. The University needs to take steps to both reimburse students whose property was damaged and to ensure that such leakage does not reoccur in the future.

All of Harvard's upperclass houses took on at least some water last week, as did some first-year dorms. Winthrop House, perhaps the worst hit, suffered an entirely waterlogged dining hall and a soggy mailroom. Other examples of flooding include the basement of Eliot House and the entire Dewolfe street side of New Quincy, where, according to acting Superintendent Jay Coveney, the wind-driven rain simply penetrated the wall of the building.

Given the severity of the storm, it is not unreasonable to expect some flooding, but the extreme amount of leakage seen this past weekend indicates that Harvard needs to renovate the superstructures of many of its buildings to prevent such occurrences in the future. Additionally, while many of the buildings that leaked this past weekend are normally waterproof, others have a long and unresolved history of leakage. For instance, the basement of Thayer hall, which was soaked by this last storm, also leaked during the summer, damaging some computers belonging to the Harvard Model Congress.

And according to Currier House residents, the windows of students' rooms often leak due to improper grouting, a problem which seems easy to remedy. When asked about this reoccurring leakage, Currier House Superintendent Manny Casillas declined to comment.

In addition to the inconvenience, last week's flooding also damaged student property. For example, many students in Quincy House have had to throw out rugs that mildewed irreparably after soaking for hours in puddles of rainwater. And the nice new carpet laid down in New Quincy hallways over the summer now bears a most unpleasant stench.

As a landlord, Harvard must maintain its buildings in better condition. Students pay enough rent to expect that their property will not be damaged by rainwater leaking in through badly-maintained windows and walls. The fact that some buildings have been known to leak in the past and haven't been repaired is even more egregious. We urge Harvard to reimburse students for all reasonable losses, and then to get on the ball and waterproof its property before the next storm washes us all into the Charles River.