College Will Still Allow Microfridges

The College this week notified students that their rooms will once again be inspected over winter break, that illegal cooking appliances will be confiscated and that students who have microfridges will not be confiscated—despite local officials’ confirmation that they violate state sanitary laws.

Harvard’s rules forbid all cooking appliances in dorms except for the combination microwave-refrigerator that Harvard Student Agencies (HSA) rents to students.

But Robert Bersani, commissioner of Cambridge’s Department of Inspectional Service, told The Crimson two months ago that all cooking appliances present in dorm rooms violate Massachusetts sanitary laws and the microfridge is therefore illegal. Assistant Commissioner Mike Nicoloro said yesterday that this interpretation of the law is still department policy.

Associate Dean of the College Thomas A. Dingman ’67 said the administration has not taken any steps to bring College policy into compliance with the law.

“No action has been taken,” Dingman said yesterday. “We will inspect for violations of current policy, and I am not aware of plans to modify the policy.”

Dingman said he was surprised at the discovery that the microfridges are illegal because there have been no safety problems with the units.

Though Dingman would not speculate on the future of the College’s microfridge exemption, others said they thought it might ultimately have to be repealed.

“If the College finds out [the microfridge] is a violation of sanitary codes, it will take action to eliminate them,” said Jay Coveney, superintendent of Lowell House.

Meanwhile, with room inspections fast approaching, students will once again engage in the yearly ritual of hiding their illegal microwaves in strategic locations.

Zachary M. Gingo ’98, who is manager of administrative operations at the FAS Office of Physical Resources, said superintendents will search the rooms thoroughly this year.

“You can’t drape a towel over a microwave in the middle of a room without us noticing,” Gingo said. “We look at anything out in the open, in closets and under beds and desks. But we don’t open dresser drawers or trunks or personal objects like that.”

Gingo said that second searches of rooms—performed after initial warnings are given to students with illegal items—yield at most 10 violations per House. Most of those violations are candles, he said.

In light of the relative ease with which students hide appliances banned by the College, students who did not rent microfridges this year said they doubted they would be missed if they were disallowed.

“I think it’s just a way for [HSA] to make money—they have a monopoly on the market,” said Rosie Wang ’05.

HSA Rentals rents the microfridge—which HSA General Manager Robert Rombauer says makes up over 50 percent of its business—for $250 per year, plus deposit. This price is only slightly less than the cost of buying the microfridge online.

Abhishek Gupta ’04, who will take over as HSA president in February, said earlier this week that he was “concerned” about the possibility of a ban on microfridges.

“I am currently working very closely with the new manager [of HSA Rentals]...to see what we can do,” Gupta said.

Current HSA President Bradley J. Olson ’03 and Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 declined to comment for this story.