Safety Inspection May Close Pudding for Two Years

An independent contractor will inspect the worn Hasty Pudding building in the next month to see if it is safe for students to use next year, Associate Dean of the College David P. Illingworth '71 said last week.

If the contractor's inspection identifies safety hazards that would cost a large amount of money to repair, Illingworth said the College would close the building next year--shutting the Pudding building down for two years and leaving all the construction for a single period of renovation.

Illingworth said the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) would be willing to invest money in the building if it meant undergraduates would be able to use the space next year.

The College expects to take next year to plan for an overhaul of the building, and then likely begin construction in the 2001-2002 academic year.

"We're going to do a cost analysis of how much it costs to make the building safe. $25,000 to $30,000 for bringing the building up to code is probably doable," Illingworth said. "But something like $250,000 is a large chunk of money for a one time renovation."

Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles said earlier this spring that FAS expects to spend upwards of $10 million to fully renovate the building. Illingworth said he also hopes the contractor's inspection will lead to the drawing of new architectural plans of the 124-year old Pudding building.

"I doubt that we are going to find the original architectural plans," he said.

With renovation plans in the works,

University administrators have started to offer their thoughts about the future of Hasty Pudding Theatricals and their policy of maintaining an all-male cast.

Despite its cast policy, the group technically complies with the College's policy forbidding recognized student groups form discriminating on the basis of gender. The cast is traditionally all male, but women participate in every other aspect of producing the Theatricals' annual drag-burlesque extravaganza, and hence the group retains its recognized status.

With FAS's acquisition of the Pudding building however, the possibility exists that the Theatricals may have to open up its stage to female actors in the future.

The Pudding falls within the jurisdiction of College administrators--like Illingworth and Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68--and they will likely decide if the Pudding cast can remain all-male and still perform on a Harvard-owned stage.

But President Neil L. Rudenstine said in a recent interview that the cast should go co-ed.

"From my point of view, this is a co-educational institution. And my sense is that there ought to be full participation by everyone who wants to participate," Rudenstine said. "It is certainly my strong educational point of view."