Masters Extend Keycard Access On Trial Basis

House Masters voted Wednesday to extend universal keycard access (UKA) to 2:30 a.m. in all the Houses on a trial basis for the spring term, despite some Masters’ lingering reservations about safety.

While the vote was “unanimous,” according to Kirkland House Co-Master Verena Conley, a few Masters chose to abstain.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 stressed that some Masters are still concerned about the safety repercussions of UKA—and that the success of the later hours is in the hands of students.

“If there is a lot of vandalism, cleaning-up of messes, etc., I won’t be able to persuade them to continue, so it is important that students take responsibility for reporting and helping control such incidents,” Lewis wrote in an e-mail.

Eliot House Master Lino Pertile, who abstained from the vote, said he was against later UKA because of what he says is an added safety risk.

“It seems to me that we are extending the risk without extending our preventive securities,” Pertile said. “Extending the security guard hours would have been a good way of coping with that.”

Despite these safety concerns, Lewis said the Houses will not employ security guards later than their current 1 a.m. finish time, arguing that Pertile’s suggestion would be too costly and “unnecessary.”

Conley also said she felt student safety was not an issue.

“[Crime] can happen before one o’clock or after one o’clock,” Conley said of the current UKA hours. “It’s always nice to have a security guard around but I think people are mature and can live without a security guard.”

Winthrop House Master Paul D. Hanson, who also says he favors the later hours, said he will be watching the safety of his residents “very closely” and that the Masters will most likely discuss the results later in the semester.

Lewis said he supports the change, as does Thomas A. Dingman ’67, who is associate dean of the College for human resources and the House system.

Dingman said one reason to be optimistic that the new hours will not endanger students is the success of 24-hour UKA in Quincy House, while Lewis added that late-night universal access works at Yale.

Rohit Chopra ’04, chair of the Undergraduate Council’s Student Affairs Committee and a member of the Committee on House Life (CHL) that recommended the UKA extension to the Masters last month, said the later hours will go far toward accommodating the lifestyles of undergraduate “night owls.”

“There are people who choose to work earlier or work later,” Chopra said. “The College has to be flexible and create a safe and convenient environment for all those students.”

The Masters’ announcement represents the first accomplishment of the council under the leadership of new President Sujean S. Lee ’03.

Lee said later keycard access is just the beginning of the council’s campaign to create a “Later Harvard”—a large part of Lee’s presidential campaign platform.

Both Lee and Chopra said they hope this will open the door for extending the hours of other campus services, like libraries and the shuttle.

—Staff writer Anne K. Kofol can be reached at kofol@fas.harvard.edu.