Room Inspections To Be Stricter

Winter break room inspections will be more strict this year than in the past, according to an e-mail most House superintendents sent to their students over the last few days.

At the same time, some superintendents said that while room inspections will adhere more thoroughly to stated policies from the Handbook for Students and Cambridge and Mass. law, they will not differ from previous years in the definition of what constitutes a violation.

“We’re going to comply more strictly with the law,” said Joseph O’Connor, the building manager for Mather, Dunster and Leverett Houses. “The rules were always there, now we’re just taking action.”

Eliot House Superintendent Francisco Medeiros also noted that this year’s inspections won’t break too much from past procedures.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t see much difference about inspections this year,” he said.

According to the e-mail sent to students, the fire in Eliot House a few weeks ago, has caused superintendents to realize that students largely ignore fire safety rules and has prompted them to reemphasize the importance of long held fire safety policies.

Superintendent of Lowell House James Coveney said that violations will be noted during the initial inspection, after which students will have a 10-day period to correct any problems before a reinspection is conducted.

If, upon reinspection, the problem remains, whatever is responsible for the violation will be confiscated and donated to charity.

Specific violations mentioned in an e-mails include the presence of cooking equipment in rooms without kitchens, candles, lighter fluid, incense—all items prohibited by the Student Handbook.

According to the e-mail, superintendents and facilities staff will also look for blocked fire exits, disconnected smoke alarms, discharged fire extinguishers, overloaded power strips, and inadequate extension cords.

Facilities staff will also ensure that fireplaces are being properly used. Where they find violations, they will inform the student and the senior tutor, O’Connor said.

Although there will be no punishment for improper fireplace use, student rooms where fireplace violations are discovered will be reinspected at a later date, he added.

Coveney and O’Connor said that all rooms—not just a sample—will be inspected, and that inspecting all rooms has been the policy for a number of years.

O’Connor said that the inspections were intended to enhance student safety and not to spite students.

“Contrary to popular belief, superintendents do care about the safety of their charges,” he said.

The warning will have little effect on student behavior, some students said yesterday. Many noted the ease of getting around inspections.

“I think inspections are kind of silly because you can always hide things,” said Katie M. Heikkinen ’02 of Mather House.

Others said, however that safety is important, especially from the University’s perspective.

“I think it’s good because there could be liability,” said Currier resident David L. Paredes ’02.

“I’m going to hide my candle,” he added.

O’Connor in fact said that he was unsure informing students of inspections was a good idea because they might temporarily remove any problems to pass inspection and then bring them back after break.

“I do believe its foolish to tell people we’re coming to inspect,” he said.

Medeiros, however, expressed confidence that “Harvard students are smart” and would actually correct violations.