HUPD to Increase Security in Matthews

Gotta go? Better not forget the combination.

In response to student concerns about security in Matthews Hall in the wake of recent break-ins, combination locks will be installed this week in each of the dorm's common bathrooms.

Harvard Police will also be strictly enforcing the no-trespassing law, locking gates around Matthews at night and going door-to-door asking students to identify suspects from photo arrays.

The combination locks will require students to punch in a code consisting of three numbers.

According to Yard Superintendent Kathleen Bray, the Freshman Dean's Office will help decide this week whether each bathroom will have its own separate combination.

Notices slipped under the doors of Matthews suites will inform students of the combination, said Merle Bicknell of Yard Operations, and the combinations will be changed periodically during the semester.

The impetus for the combination locks came from Matthews residents, Bicknell said, and administrators decided to go ahead with the idea as a pilot project.

"If it works we will take a look at doing this in other dorms," Bicknell said, "but at this point we only have the problem in Matthews."

Harvard Police Chief Francis D. "Bud" Riley said last week that he supports the addition of the locks.

"I think it's necessary right now, since students are asking for it," he said.

In addition to the new locks, Riley said, police are carefully patrolling the building and the surrounding area, and guards are now locking the gates to the Yard from the Square at earlier times.

The gates between Lehman and Straus Halls and across from Holyoke Center will now close at 7:30 p.m. every day.

In vigorously enforcing the no-trespassing law, Riley said, police will now arrest "anyone who doesn't have a legitimate reason for being in the building," rather than issue warnings to those people.

Riley said Matthews residents have been helpful in contacting police after run-ins with intruders, and he asked that they continue to be vigilant.

"Ninety-five percent of the problem is who gets into the building," Riley said.

Riley said the security problem would be greatly reduced "if we could just educate the students to ask the easy words, 'Can I help you?'" when strangers seek to follow them inside.

Officers will also be asking residents to identify suspected trespassers from a photo array in upcoming days, Riley said.

The increased security measures follow a long chain of break-ins into Matthews rooms, culminating in last week's arrest of a trespasser who had entered an unlocked suite at 4 a.m. asking for change for a dollar.

Philip C. Liu '99, a first-floor resident, said it is "about friggin' time" that locks were installed.

"On the first floor, there are always weird people in the bathroom," Liu said. "When I'm taking a shower at three in the morning, it's kind of freaky since there's no one around and someone could just walk in."

But some Matthews residents said last week that the bathroom locks are unnecessary.

"To me it seems like the bathrooms aren't the prime issue," said Clare C. Parker '99. "I lock my room, but I'm definitely not afraid that someone will come into the bathroom."

Neil C. Magnuson '99 said the locks would be an inconvenience.

"If I forget something in the shower, I don't want to bother with the combination," he said.

Wells I. Mangrum '99 agreed.

"There's nothing they could steal in the bathroom," he said. "I'm not worried at all."

In an e-mail message, however, Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth Studley Nathans cautioned that students should use the locks wisely and not keep bathroom doors propped open for convenience.

"No lock can absolutely guarantee anyone's safety," she wrote. "Propped or unlocked doors make entry to a building or to a suite effortless; the same will be true of entry to bathrooms if bathroom locks are tampered with or if bathroom doors are propped.

"To me it seems like the bathrooms aren't the prime issue," said Clare C. Parker '99. "I lock my room, but I'm definitely not afraid that someone will come into the bathroom."

Neil C. Magnuson '99 said the locks would be an inconvenience.

"If I forget something in the shower, I don't want to bother with the combination," he said.

Wells I. Mangrum '99 agreed.

"There's nothing they could steal in the bathroom," he said. "I'm not worried at all."

In an e-mail message, however, Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth Studley Nathans cautioned that students should use the locks wisely and not keep bathroom doors propped open for convenience.

"No lock can absolutely guarantee anyone's safety," she wrote. "Propped or unlocked doors make entry to a building or to a suite effortless; the same will be true of entry to bathrooms if bathroom locks are tampered with or if bathroom doors are propped.