College Reduces Summer Housing

Renovations to the Houses this summer will force the College to cut its available summer housing by 15 percent, according to a letter to student organizations sent last week by Associate Dean of the College David P. Illingworth ’71.

Typically, several hundred Harvard College students stay over the summer in Harvard housing for free while working for College-recognized student groups. In addition, the Houses and Yard dormitories are used to host hundreds of Summer School students.

The reduction will leave the College with “the smallest number of rooms ever available for out-of-term housing,” the letter stated.

“It’s not something we like to have to do, but we have an obligation to ensure that our buildings are safe and well-maintained,” said Thomas A. Dingman ’67, associate dean of the College.

Dunster, Eliot, Kirkland and Mather Houses are all going to be completely closed for construction over the summer, according to Merle Bicknell, manager of Yard Operations.

Additionally, some rooms in Cabot, Pforzheimer and Currier Houses will be closed because of the gutting and renovations of Jordan and Wolbach Halls and construction on their dining halls and shared kitchen area, she said.

Bicknell said that groups such as the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA), which normally receives housing for around 200 students working in PBHA-sponsored public service summer programs, will be most affected by the predicted housing shortage.

PBHA President Laura E. Clancy ’02 said the organization plans to continue with all of their programs this summer, despite the rooming shortage.

“It would be the silliest thing not to have programs because you don’thave a bed,” Clancy said.

Within PBHA, priority for summer housing will be given to students staying for programs that run only in the summer, Clancy said.

However, those students who do get housing will not necessarily have a peaceful summer, Bicknell said. The construction in the Houses will include periodic outages in both the water and electrical supplies, although Bicknell said the College will try to minimize all such interruptions of services.

Clancy said that she understands that construction is necessary on the Houses and is satisfied with the way the administration has dealt with it—as long as this shortage does not become the norm.

“I hope...that in future years Harvard will be as generous as they can,” Clancy said.

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