Prefrosh To Be Given Swipe Access to Dorms

UPDATED: March 25, 2012, at 3:53 p.m.

For the first time, prospective Harvard students will have swipe access to all freshman dorms and upperclassmen Houses during Visitas, the College’s visiting program for admitted students.

Administrators instituted this change to make the visit safer and more enjoyable for both current and prospective students, said Director of Visitas Valerie A. Beilenson ’07.

“Current students and prefrosh will no longer need to leave doors open or ‘piggyback,’” she said.

Dean of Freshman Thomas A. Dingman ’67 said having swipe access will also improve prospective students’ visiting experience.

“It is not hospitable to welcome our guests and then make them dependent on their hosts being there each time they return from an event to let them in,” Dingman said.

He added that there have been incidents in the past in which students were locked out of the dorms or Houses where they were staying for the weekend.

Though Soo Y. Han ’15, who stayed in Holworthy as a prefrosh, said she never found herself locked out for an extended period of time, as she just asked someone passing by to let her in, she noted that her visiting experience would have been more convenient if she had swipe access.

“I think it’s good that the students get swipe access because they get the true experience of what it’s like living at Harvard,” Han said.

As a host, Whitney A. Lee ’14 said hosting prefrosh was made “really annoying,” by the fact that they were not given swipe access. In particular, she recalled how she had to wake up in the middle of the night to let in her prefrosh, who had stayed up late to get a proper exposure to Harvard’s social scene.

“The only other alternative is propping the door, which is against school rules,” she said.

In order to determine the best means to implement temporary, universal swipe access to residential buildings in a safe way, Beilenson said the Visitas planning committee met with different groups, including the Harvard University Police Department, the Office of Student Life, the Freshman Dean’s Office, and University Operations Services.

In response to concerns about maintaining proper level of security, Dingman said he is “confident we will be in good place” as long as students use their best judgment when letting people into the dorms.

He added that the card that prefrosh use to get access to dorms, Houses, and dining halls will be deactivated after the visiting program ends.

Visitas Program, which is designed to provide prospective students with an idea of what life is like at Harvard, will take place April 21 to 23.

Nearly 1,300 admitted students attended Visitas last year, and Beilenson said she expects a similar turnout this year.

—Staff writer Jane Seo can be reached at janeseo@college.harvard.edu