Keycard Access Concerns Masters

While students are literally left out in the cold, Mather co-Master Leigh G. Hafrey '73 says the issue of keycard access has not been addressed recently by the Committee on House Life (COHL).

Jobe G. Danaganan '99, an Undergraduate Council delegate to the COHL, says he hopes the issue will earn growing attention this semester as he believes it is a matter of safety and convenience for students.

"I would like to see that symmetry [of university] emerging but the decision has to be coupled with nothing less than a very concerted effort of addressing security," says Winthrop House Master Paul D. Hanson.

And Dunster House Master Karel F. Liem argues "it's not just a safety issue," citing students' busy lives as a reason for a campus-wide policy.

"I am very much for universal access," Liem says. "Rehearsals can be at very strange times."

But outgoing master of Leverett House John E. Dowling '57 says he does not believe these concerns merit 24-hour universal access.

"I don't see a huge need for people to have access to a House after midnight," Dowling says. "That's something I think we have to be extraordinarily careful about."

According to James J. McCarthy, master of Pforzheimer House, student safety comes first.

"I think the Dean's rule of thumb on two locked doors is a wise one," McCarthy says. Under Lewis' guideline, student rooms should be protected by two locked doors.

But many note that undergraduates habitually leave their rooms unlocked.

Universal access advocates might change their minds "when the first person gets hurt," says Eliot House Master Stephen A. Mitchell.

"If we knew every student locked their door, we'd feel more comfortable [endorsing universal key card access]," says Kristine L. Forsgard, co-master of Eliot House.

And because the Houses are architecturally different, it is difficult to prescribe a universal policy.

"We hope to optimize safety, flexibility and access," says Cabot House Master James H. Ware. But he also notes that the variations among Houses run deeper than architecture.

Issues like universal key card access bring up the larger question of "states rights"--the autonomy of Houses in College-wide decision making procedures, he says.

"The Dean [of the College] tried to push for greater uniformity and greater consistency," Ware says. "But I think there's a strong tradition of freedom of Masters to influence areas that affect policies of House life."

Still, while Lowell House Master William H. Bossert '59 asserts that "there are some decisions that are best made peripherally," he also notes House leadership is "not autonomous."

Bossert says he is concerned individual Houses might lose their charm if all distinctive features and inequities are eliminated.

"To bring everybody down to the least common denominator would be very unfortunate," he says.