Committee Finds Cable Television Unlikely

Students will not be watching “Sex and the City” or “The Sopranos” in their rooms anytime soon.

After almost six months of research, a working group of the Committee on House Life announced at a Thursday meeting that it is unlikely that cable television will be available to individual student suites in the next few years.

Adam M. Johnson ’02, a member of the working group, said that the expense of wiring cable through the brick walls of the Houses—which would cost several million dollars—was more than the administration was willing to pay.

“The best chance would be to do it with the next round of major renovation of the Houses,” Johnson said.

But Adams House Master Sean Palfrey, a member of the working group, said that the next major renovations will probably not happen until the University next decides to upgrade computing network wiring—something he said the administration is not considering right now.

Over the past year students have made several calls for the addition of cable in student suites.

In November the Undergraduate Council unanimously passed a position paper calling for the College to “engage in an active review of current residential television policy with the objective of improving and increasing the television options available to undergraduates.” And December’s campaign of Matthew H. Espy ’03 for council president centered on adding cable to student rooms.

Johnson said that as a “consolation prize” the group looked into installing HBO and other premium cable channels in House common rooms. But AT&T Broadband, Cambridge’s cable provider, will not install HBO in a space available to more than just a single family, according to Johnson.

“I find it hard to believe that there aren’t any common rooms [at other colleges] that have HBO,” said Shira S. Simon ’04, a member of the working group. “When we said we should have HBO in the common rooms, everyone was for it. If it’s something that helps build community [the Masters] are all for it.”

Palfrey said that he is in favor of having more cable options for the common rooms, but not for student rooms.

“I’m not in favor of them having it in their rooms because I think it’s too great a temptation,” Palfrey said. “But I do think it’s important and fun for it to be accessible in the Houses because people should have time to watch sports and movies.”

Melissa A. Conway ’05 said she doubts it would be a distraction from work, though it might detracts from other parts of students’ lives.

“It would probably just make out social lives worse,” Conway said. “People would just stay in and watch TV.”

Students said they think the time has come for cable to be installed in their rooms.

“It’s one of those things that shows student life isn’t really a focus of the University,” said Bernie S. Yoo ’03.

Johnson echoed this frustration.

“I guess I’m disappointed that it seems like there’s not all that much likelihood that it could be done any time soon,” Johnson said. “But it was an issue that hadn’t made any progress in a long time.”

Despite their lack of results so far, the working group is not giving up.

Simon said she is still investigating the possibility of getting HBO in the common rooms as well as seeing if more common rooms within each House can be outfitted with cable.

The group is also looking into the option of putting DVDs on the University computer network or offering cable through it, according to Simon.

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