College Rethinks Shuttle Changes

After last month’s announcement that late night shuttle service might be eliminated as part of a round of sweeping budget cuts, students erupted in protest, citing safety concerns that would arise if the decision were to go through.

But a week later, Dean of the College Evelynn M. Hammonds sent an e-mail to the undergraduate population announcing that, pending further inquiry, shuttles will continue to run after 1:30 a.m. from Sunday to Wednesday next year. However, the administration remained mum on cutbacks to daytime shuttle service.

Hammonds and several College administrators faced intense criticism from students during a series of meetings, held on May 11, that administrators said aimed to increase transparency and incorporate student perspective as the University grapples with an unprecedented budget crisis.

In the e-mail, Hammonds acknowledged the potential safety hazards that students had raised at the town hall meetings, but she also reaffirmed that the proposal came after a “thorough review of the safety implications”—a claim that both students and House officials saw as insufficient.

According to Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith, slashing late-night shuttle services was one of the budget cuts that College administrators did not “flag” beforehand in anticipation of widespread student opposition.

House administrators, including incoming Pforzheimer House Master Nicholas A. Christakis, said they were concerned that the potential cut, coupled with the closing of the Quad library next year, would disproportionately af“The decision to shut down the Quad library was shocking,” said Jen J. Gong ’12, who will live in Cabot House next year. “That, combined with the scaling-back of the shuttle service, was worrisome.”

However, Gong said that she felt the College administration has been receptive to her and other students’ concerns in the e-mails administrators sent following the town hall meetings.

In the face of intense scrutiny for what students have equated with cuts that unequally target student life, administrators agreed that reconsidering their proposal to cut shuttle services was a “really important” move, according to Suzy M. Nelson, associate dean of residential life.

“Instead of making a decision now, we really want to wait until folks get back in the fall,” Nelson said.

In the interim, Nelson said that the administration will look into the feasibility of alternatives to shuttles, including escort and van services, which Hammonds called currently “less than optimal” in her May 18 e-mail.

—Staff writer Bita M. Assad can be reached at bassad@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Ahmed N. Mabruk can be reached at amabruk@fas.harvard.edu.