Student Prank Results In Charges of Arson

What began as a series of pranks' among friends ended yesterday morning with a smoke-filled room, fire alarms, and the arrest of two Leverett House sophomores on charges of arson.

Mark B. Caudill '88 and Ronald E. Corcillo '88 were accused of causing a small fire in Leverett House's McKinlock Hall yesterday by igniting a towel with a stick of incense.

The two were arrested in yesterday's pre-dawn hours by Cambridge Police, acting on the recommendation of city fire authorities responding to the 4:30 a.m. alarm. They were arraigned in Cambridge District Court and released on personal recognizance after a hearing was set for February 12.

According to an entry-mate who asked not to be identified, the two were attempting to "smoke-out" their friends in the B-entry room by putting a stick of incense under the door. The two groups had been involved in a volley of pranks throughout the night, the student said, beginning with a water fight after a small party in the resident tutor's room.

Caudill and Corcillo, who could not be reached for comment, were apparently unaware that the students in the room had stuffed a towel under their door. At one point the two had poured cologne under the door of their friends' room, hoping to overwhelm them with the scent. The occupants of the room mopped up the cologne with the towel and stuffed it under the door to block further intrusions before going to sleep, according to B-entry resident tutor Karen Natalie.

The towel, which had been soaked in water before being used to clean the cologne, caught fire and triggered the house's alarms, minimally scorching parts of the door and the floor.

While normally Harvard waits until court cases are settled before considering disciplinary action, Leverett House Senior Tutor and Assistant Dean Thomas A. Dingman said the issue will be brought before the Administrative Board as soon as possible.

Dingman said the Board would try to seek an "immediate resolution to help them get on with their lives."

More Cooperation

Dingman added that because proceedings of the Board rarely involve lawyers, officials could expect "more cooperation and candor" from the students. It might be to the students' advantage to have "what's available to us then taken up by court," he said.

The students participating in the pranks freely admitted their involvement as the fire department and HUPD made reports on the fire, Natalie said. The fire department alerted an inspector from the arson squad, who arrived on the scene a short time later.

After investigating the fire, the inspector decided to press felony charges of arson on Caudill and Corcillo.