College Enforces Tighter Security During Regatta

Students and visitors expecting a wild weekend for the Head of the Charles Regatta will instead encounter tight security.

The Head of the Charles, which has attracted as many as 200,000 spectators to Cambridge and Harvard Square, is the largest regatta in the world.

Head of the Charles traditionally motivates the police to authorize some of the tightest security of the year, and this year is no exception.

The gates to Harvard Yard and to the houses will be locked at 4 p.m. this afternoon and will reopen at 2 a.m. tomorrow. The river houses will close again from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow.

The only gates open to the Yard will be Johnston, Thayer and Lamont, police said.

In addition, each student is permitted only one guest for the weekend, who must be preregistered with the police and accompanied by a student to enter the Yard and Harvard's houses.

Harvard students should also expect to be asked to present identification when they attempt to enter the Yard or one of the houses, police said.

Police said they are expecting a large contingent of college and high school students to descend upon the Square, and said the security precautions are intended to keep order on campus.

"It's not too bad during the daytime," said Lawrence J. Murphy, HUPD's coordinator of special operations. "It's Saturday night when you start to get an influx of students from other universities."

According to Murphy, security precautions will not create hassles for students.

"There shouldn't be any lines at all," said Murphy.

"It hasn't been too hectic in past years," Murphy said. "The weather plays a big role in our operations."

Crew Races

Harvard will field about a dozen boats in tomorrow's's regatta.

Captains Edward A. Shergalis '97 and Ryan S. Wise '97 will lead the men's lightweight boat at 1:26 p.m. in the Eights division. The heavyweights, with captain Jonathan P. Feeney '97 in the seven-seat, will race at 3:45 p.m.

"It's still early in the season for us, but anytime you have the biggest race around, you want to look good and have fun," Feeney said. "We're looking to win."

Charles S. Butt, who coaches men's lightweight crew, said, "Anything we get we'll be happy with."

"Harvard's academic schedule means we start later than everyone else. We want to do well but we haven't worked hard enough to have realistic expectations. We're several weeks behind the other programs," Butt said.

The Radcliffe lightweight eight, starring captain Layla D. Adolphson '97, will race at 1:30 p.m. For the heavyweights, captain Dana A. Remus '97 will be among the eight who will row at 4 p.m.

While the police may find the regatta's spectators a nuisance at best, businesses in the Square are looking forward to the influx of weekend visitors.

Au Bon Pain, for example, is projecting $17,000 in sales for tomorrow alone. While Associate Manager Shirish Bohra refused to comment on precisely how much of a boost that figure represents, he indicated that the weekend is one of the busiest of the year.

"We're stashing food and increasing staff," Bohra said. "We anticipate it being hectic."

Dimitri S. Tragos, manager of J. August, agreed that Head of the Charles weekend is one of the most lucrative of the fall.

"We only have two to four items for the regatta. Most visitors want Harvard gear. We're in the peak mode," said Tragos.

Curiously, Tragos said that Head of the Charles is not one of the busiest weekends of the year. He said J. August makes more on an average summer weekend than it does as a result of the regatta

While the police may find the regatta's spectators a nuisance at best, businesses in the Square are looking forward to the influx of weekend visitors.

Au Bon Pain, for example, is projecting $17,000 in sales for tomorrow alone. While Associate Manager Shirish Bohra refused to comment on precisely how much of a boost that figure represents, he indicated that the weekend is one of the busiest of the year.

"We're stashing food and increasing staff," Bohra said. "We anticipate it being hectic."

Dimitri S. Tragos, manager of J. August, agreed that Head of the Charles weekend is one of the most lucrative of the fall.

"We only have two to four items for the regatta. Most visitors want Harvard gear. We're in the peak mode," said Tragos.

Curiously, Tragos said that Head of the Charles is not one of the busiest weekends of the year. He said J. August makes more on an average summer weekend than it does as a result of the regatta