Renovations Must Target Chem Labs

Harvard's chemistry department ranks among the finest and most prestigious in the world. So when you come to Harvard, you don't expect to be crowded into a set of labs that can't cope with yearly enrollment. At long last, these labs are to be renovated and expanded.

Current restraints force students taking the Chemistry 17-27 sequence to perform their 27-level labs while taking 17. But increased space will allow for labs in both classes.

Chemistry Head Tutor James E. Davis called the labs "behind the times." In the matter of students' health, this pronouncement raises worrisome issues. Organic chemistry labs often feature a wide variety of toxic and carcinogenic materials; improvements cannot come soon enough. Fortunately, the renovations will augment safety measures with the addition of new fume hoods.

For such a renowned program as Harvard's to be "behind the times" also puts the effectiveness of students' training in question. If the Science Center labs lag behind the cutting edge, so too do the prospects of students pursuing graduate study.

Harvard's undergraduates should train in situations commensurate to the research labs in which many of them will eventually work. We realize that Harvard's research labs can draw on federal grant money and other outside funding for their equipment, but the upgrade of facilities for students' basic exercises ranks high in importance.

The renovations at the Science Center could affect up to 600 chemistry students, almost ten percent of the undergraduate population. We hope that the chemistry department and University will provide amply for these students' health and education.