FDO Bans Tours of Annenberg Hall

In response to the assault on a female first-year student in Annenberg Hall Tuesday morning, the Freshman Dean's Office (FDO) has decided to bar the Crimson Key Society from bringing tours through the historic dining hall.

According to Dean of Freshman Elizabeth Studley Nathans, access to the balcony above the main dining hall was always technically limited to people with valid Harvard ID cards. However, many Crimson Key tours used the vantage point during non-meal hours.

"That the policy has been imperfectly enforced over the years has always been a source of concern to the FDO and to the dining halls staff," Nathans wrote in an e-mail message.

Nathans told Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis via e-mail that Memorial Hall staff are considering installing an ID card reader to ensure that the balcony and tower rooms remain off-limits to non-members of the Harvard community.

Lewis said she supported the decision, predicting that it would be "reassuring to families that we take safety and security seriously."

To augment security, the FDO had requested that the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) increase its presence in the dining hall.

Devon R. Quasha '02, admissions office coordinator for the Crimson Key Society, said yesterday received a forwarded e-mail message from the office and instructed tour guides to remove the Annenberg stop from their tours.

"People are concerned about the student and the assault and being sensitive," Quasha said. "We're not allowed to take people into Widener [Library] either."

"In no way are we upset because for now, it's a necessary precaution to respect that," she added. "If it becomes permanent, it would prompt discussion, because it's beneficial for prospective freshmen to see where they eat and that should be allowed," she said.

Although prospective applicants can still enter the dining hall by getting a pass from the admissions office, parents and other guests have to arrange a visit between 2 and 4 p.m. with the Memorial Hall office.

But few visitors seem to be aware of this requirement.

"Europeans and people with cameras are here everyday," said Ethel E. Pugh, Annenberg's customer service manager.

Students in Annenberg last night said they were not fazed by the prospect of what Nathans called an "added HUPD presence in Annenberg, both uniformed and plainclothes" in her e-mail message to Lewis.

"I think it's weird when I come in [to Annenberg] and see people videocameraing me [from the balcony]," said Ursula G. DeYoung '04.

"I'd rather have a policeman," she said. "They're not an obvious or oppressive force; it's not like they're patrolling. They're just like normal guys eating."

But DeYoung said she did not feel the change would decrease the likelihood of another attack.

"[The FDO's decision] wasn't rational," she said. "[The assailant] wasn't a tourist."

Patrick F. Morrissey '04 said he didn't think the stricter coverage would affect his Annenberg experience.

"I felt perfectly safe before the cops, but I'm a big fella," he said.

Sergeant Kevin P. Bryant of the HUPD's Yard Community Policing Team said that police eat in the dining halls and "are pretty much around [as is]. There are 11 community policing officers in that particular area."

"It won't be a huge, dramatic thing; you won't see officers stationed there on a shift basis...but whenever anything happens to a member of the community, we take that personally," Bryant said.

Quasha also downplayed the significance of the new restrictions.

"That is such a miniscule part of the tour, and only on the three o'clock tour," she said.

Hannah E. Kenser '04 said she agreed.

"If a [prospective] freshman's decision is based on the eating hall," she said, "they probably shouldn't be here."