<p>My daughter’s Yard room did not have a locking closet. We bought a very small safe for her passport and a couple of not-so-valuable, but sentimental and private things. I just wanted a fire-proof place for her travel documents more than anything. It is not theft proof- someone could pick it up and carry it off- but it does keep a few small things safe enough.</p>
<p>As for first floor rooms, a warning for parents. A few indiscreet tourists do anything they can to get pictures of room interiors, including sitting on one another’s shoulders. This bothered me enormously and I was very glad my daughter was not in a ground floor room. Warn your students to keep the window coverings drawn while getting dressed. (Note, the rooms are not easy to see in as they are several steps above ground level. It takes some creativity to get those shots!)</p>
<p>Once again let me thank those of you keeping this thread going for us. Thanks for taking care of the students whose parents cannot be there. Thank you for your advice and encouragement!</p>
<p>By the way, are there any parents here whose students lived in Matthews their first year? (Or any incoming students, like mine, assigned to this dorm?) Curious if there are any comments/suggestions about it. I’ve heard mostly good things, other than the fact that students have to go across the yard to do laundry. My son does have a ground floor room, but i don’t think he’ll mind people trying to look in the windows. Knowing him, he’ll find a way to charge for photos. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. My D does have a first floor room. I never in a million years would have thought that a tourist might try and take photos of students in their rooms. Yikes! I will pass this on to my D.</p>
<p>It is not that big a deal Tessa. The kids get used to the all the attention they get from the tourists. My S lived in Thayer on the first floor facing the old Yard–wonderful set up–and only once did someone actually take a picture of him. It was when he was doing some work at his desk near the window one afternoon. Your D will love Thayer.</p>
<p>When my daughter was a freshman she got up early one Saturday (early for a college kid) and walked out into the Yard to meet a friend to go running together. Staring and pointing at her, a large Chinese tour group came rushing over and all started snapping pictures - apparently preserving a memory of the time on their trip when they saw a real Harvard student.</p>
<p>My S will be in a first floor room in Hollis and I know he expects tourists being obnoxious-- although he said that after Eton where they would pester the boys to stop and have the picture taken with them, (bc of the uniform) it will be a relief!</p>
<p>In response to the previous discussion concerning safes-- please consider the feelings of the roommates before you and your student march into the dorm room with a safe. The message perceived may be that you consider the roommates untrustworthy, irresponsible or larcenous. </p>
<p>A file box with a lock that is discreetly hidden away is a less offensive object, and probably safer as it does not scream “valuables inside!” </p>
<p>The majority of on-campus crime for Harvard freshman seems to be thefts of unattended computers, backpacks and wallets. Remind your frosh not to leave her purse or wallet for a second unattended in Annenburg dining hall, or Lamont library. Roommate on roommmate theft is very rare.</p>
<p>Another common theft situation is at large house dances, or parties at final clubs. Coats get taken by non-owners; whether this is by mistake or on purpose is unclear. North Face jackets disappear quickly.</p>
<p>The John Harvard statue, for most of us, is a tongue-in-cheek bit of Harvard self-deprecation. It isn’t really John, it misidentifies him as the school’s founder, and it even gets the school’s founding date wrong. But, it would seem, for Asian tour groups, it’s a holy shrine to which one must make a pilgrimage during one’s lifetime. :)</p>
<p>Fauve- I really wasn’t concerned about roommates, but more that living communally, students would leave their rooms unattended at times. I worked as a credit counselor for a time and worry about identity theft opportunities (the worst offenders are family members). I think you are right that a file box is less offensive than a safe or cables to tie things down. Thanks for the reality check on what kinds of theft are the most common!</p>
<p>My S takes ADHD meds and so has been advised to have a small safe–not bc of roommates but anyone else who maybe looking for Rx–there are safes that fit easily under beds and are out of sight. He has already spoken with his future roommate who is happy about it because they both think it will reduce anyone outside of the room trying to break in. His roommate did not take it as an affront at all, although, I agree that it probably should be something discussed between them beforehand in order to negate any possible bad feelings.</p>
<p>Crimson15mom - my son lived in Matthews his first year and really enjoyed it. IIRC he was on the second floor. From what I recall, he was on a small hall with 4 (?) other suites and that seemed to be the way Matthews was constructed. The good news for your son is that I believe that the men’s bathrooms are on the first and fifth floors. Our matriarch’s (guitars101) son was in Matthews also I believe.</p>
<p>etondad- No doubt discusssion of a safe beforehand is key to safeguarding the feelings of roommates- it was considerate of your son to communicate the Rx presence and safe to the roommate.</p>
<p>Concerning unattended rooms- the doors lock automatically so there is actually good security, and many freshman are requently locked out until they learn to keep their swipe cards and keys with them.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info on Matthews, Hat. Glad to hear there’s a men’s bathroom on the first floor. But I hope a student would never be expected to go to a different floor for a bathroom… does that actually happen?</p>
<p>Re: peanut allergies-- HUDS just sent materials and in the booklet HUDS wrote that there is a form that should be filled out before your child arrives and that they will work with him… They wrote that 11% of incoming students have some food allergies, so he will not be alone by any means.</p>
<p>. . . which ALL students quickly figure out how to do. And here in the South, we’d think your momma didn’t raise you right if you didn’t hold the door for the person behind you, so swipe cards are of primarily symbolic value. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>crimson15mom - Keep in mind that when these dorms were constructed, Harvard was not co-ed. Again, IIRC, the mens bathrooms are on the first and fifth floors, the ladies get the second, third and fourth floors. As my son pointed out to me over Freshmen Parents Weekend, if you are a guy living on the third floor you either had to go up or down two floors to go to the bathroom (or find a willing female to guard the door for a moment).</p>