Survey to Be Distributed On Security

In an effort to gauge student attitudes toward Harvard's freqently criticized campus security system, the University Security Committee today will distribute a nine-page survey on the subject to all undergraduates, committee officials said yesterday.

The information obtained from the surveys will be issued in report form by the end of the academic year, said committee member Elizabeth M. Lacovara, an assistant to Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III. She added that College officials felt such a report was long overdue, explaining that the University's last in-depth study on security was performed in 1978.

According to Lacovara, one section of the survey asks students what specific security issues need to be addressed. Other questions focus on students' personal habits, the value of property in student rooms, the quality of campus lighting and the effectiveness of entryway locks.

"Some information which should prove valuable will be times students walk home at night and whether current methods of transport provide proper assistance," said committee member David A. Aronberg '93. "Maybe the survey returns will help us get a 24-hour escort service and lengthened shuttle hours."

The surveys will be distributed to students today in their individual dorms and houses. Aronberg said he expects a response rate of about 50 percent.

"As far as I am concerned, though, I hope every student hands in a survey because it is in their best interest," Aronberg said.