Living in Leverett House

Lock Out Procedures

 

  • WEEKDAYS, Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm – If a student is locked out, they should contact Mohamed Zaker at the Building Manager’s Office who will be able to help. Mohamed can be reached at mohamed_zaker@harvard.ed or 617-495-2277.

  • WEEKENDS (Saturday/Sunday or holidays) from 8 am until 4 pm – the student should call the Leverett Tutor on Call at 617-429-3311.

  • EVERY NIGHT from 4 pm through 8 am: Security Guards handle lockouts. Students should go to the Security Guard in the Leverett Library building or call the guard at 617-495-1865.

If the guard is not in the office, it means that they are doing rounds. Students should wait for ten minutes to see if the guard returns. If they haven’t returned within 10 minutes, the student can call the Alpha Guard Station in Weld Hall at 617-496-9370, who will radio the guard to return to their post.

 

Lost Keys and Replacements

 

Students must request replacement keys from the Building Manager if they report their key lost. Keys lost during the term cost $5 to replace, $15 at the end of the term.

 

Room Damage and Suite Inspections

 

At the beginning of the term, you should inspect your suite and note the actual condition of the room. It is your responsibility to email the Building Manager mohamed_zaker@harvard.edu by registration if you notice any damage as you will be responsible for all subsequent damage assessments.

Suites will be inspected periodically during the year and at the end of the academic year. The purpose for inspections is to make sure all rooms comply with safety regulations, to check for needed repairs and that the guidelines noted in this booklet are followed. Inspections during the academic year will be conducted with proper notice if at all possible. Students who violate the facility policy are subject to fines and disciplinary action.
 

Decorating your Suite
 

Please make yourself familiar with the following guidelines:

  • No nails, tacks, picture hooks, or other objects that create holes in a surface may be used on walls, doors, moldings, ceilings, or floors.
  • No masking tape, scotch tape, two sided tape, glue-backed corkboards or other adhesives may be used.
  • Only College-provided poster gum ("HOLD IT") or molding hooks and picture wire may be used in these rooms. These supplies are available in the Building Manager's office.

The cost to you of filling in nail or tack holes, sanding and spray-painting one wall will be a minimum of $100 and could be more than $200. These rules will be strictly enforced.
 

Trash and Recycling Procedures
 

There is no door-to-door pickup of trash or recycling at Leverett House. Tower residents should take trash to the ground floor and dispose of it in the gray bins located outside the building. McKinlock residents should place trash and recylables in the room LL12 in the lower level by the Rabbit Hole. Please see the Building Manager if you have any questions.
 

Laundry Facilities
 

Washers and dryers for House members' use are located in the basements of McKinlock (at the end of rabbit hole) and F and G Towers. Laundry facilities are available 24 hours a day. Use Laundry View to check the availability of washer and dryers.

Machine malfunctions may be resolved by reporting the machine number and problem online, or by emailing the Building Manager. You can report a problem with the Crimson Cash swipe in a laundry room online, or call 617 496-0329 (8am-5pm Mon-Fri).

 

Bikes

 

  1. Where can I lock up my bike? One bicycle rack for residents of McKinlock is available at the far end of the courtyard. Bicycle racks for residents of the Towers are located behind F tower.
  2. Where can't I lock up my bike?  Bicycles may not be locked to any of the stairwells, gates, posts, or handicapped ramps. If this occurs, the locks will be cut and the bikes left unlocked or will be removed. In addition, bikes must be removed from all bicycle racks for commencement in May.
  3. How can I register my bike? To deter thieves and improve the chances of recovering a stolen bike, register your bicycle with HUPD.

 

Electrical Outlets in McKinlock

Because of a change in national policy, McKinlock has a new kind of electrical outlet that is designed to be safer. These outlets are tamper proof. What that means when you are plugging in your electrical appliances and other devices is that you will have to plug in the device completely perpendicular to the outlet. It will be a snug fit, so if you try to plug something in on a slight angle, the plug will not fit.

These new outlets are also highly sensitive to a change in voltage. What that means for you is that you should not unplug any electrical devices from the outlets that are still drawing power, or else the entire circuit will trip. This includes your laptop, hair dryers, etc. The proper procedure would be to unplug your laptop charger from your laptop first, then unplug it from the wall. Alternatively, be sure to shut off the switch on your hair dryer before you unplug this. If you do not do this, the entire circuit will lose power, and someone will need to be sent to reset the breaker.

Please be careful otherwise you risk losing your power. If you lose power, call the control center at 617-495-5560 (rather than emailing Mohamed Zaker). This will generate a work order and save time.

 

Temperature Control

The residential heating policy is approximately 68 degrees during the day (until 11:00 PM) and 64 degrees at night.

In the towers

1. Close the windows. The tower windows are a little tricky--when closing, it is important to have the lever unhooked. Close the window completely by turning the clasp-wheel, and then push the lever on the window down to pull it in tighter to create a seal.

2.Unblock the vents. If the radiator vents are blocked, heat cannot flow throughout the room.

3. Adjust heat output. There is a panel to adjust heating levels. Spin the nob --1 is snowflake, 5 is maximum. Some may not have numbers so turn the knob one way for heat and the opposite way for cool air. There are a number of coils on the radiator. Adjusting the knob simply decreases the number of coils that are heated, so parts of the radiator will still be giving off heat.

4. Heat comes on automatically. The towers are a forced hot water system. This means hot water is flowing through the radiators, so when the outside temperature drops below 53 degrees the air handlers automatically turn on and blow air through the system. The air then floats over the coils and wafts out in the room as heated air, as a result of this drop in temperature outside.

5. Avoid drafts. Put beds away from windows

6. Use the sun.On sunny days you should open up your curtains/blinds and let the sunlight radiate in and heat up your room.

7. Close curtains. During the night this provides a barrier against any drafts.

8. Rooms facing North (Grant Street) tend to be cooler because those rooms receive little sunlight. We adjust the temperature on this room accordingly.


In McKinlock

1. Heating in your building is a hydronic sytem. Adjust the knob from snowflake setting whoch is the lowest temp setting to % whoich ois the warmest.

2. Do not block the vents. If the radiator vents are blocked, heat cannot flow throughout the room. Do not block the vents if you do not want your room to be cold.

3. Close the windows.

4. Avoid Drafts. Put beds away from windows.

5. Use the sun. On sunny days you should open up your curtains/blinds and let the sunlight radiate in and heat up your room.

6. Close curtains. During the night this provides a barrier against further drafts.

7. Please turn the heat control knob to the lowest temperature when you leave for breaks.


Also, it should never be necessary to open windows to get rid of excess heat from the radiators. If this seems to be an issue, please contact me.

 

ISSUES

My room is still too hot/cold! What do I do? If your room is overheated or cold, bring it to the attention of the Building Manager. After hours help with room temperature control should be directed to the Control Center at 495-5560.

Can I have a space heater or air conditioner? The use of space heaters is strongly discouraged because they are fire hazards and are an inefficient use of energy. Air conditioners are allowed only with the written recommendation of a physician and approval by the Accessible Education Office.

 

Bathrooms

Lights

Please do not hit the bathroom light off when you leave the bathroom. The light sensor is supposed to go off after 20 minutes. This is a proven way to save electricity, but it does not work if people are turning the light on and off by hitting the sensor each time they enter and leave the bathroom. Don't play with it.

 

Cleaning

Hallway bathrooms in McKinlock are cleaned daily. In-suite bathrooms are cleaned every other week. Fill out an online work request if there's anything wrong with your bathroom.

 

Furnishings

  1. I brought my own bed. Where can I put my Harvard-issued one? Term-time storage of Harvard-issued beds and other pieces of furniture is at the discretion of the Building Manager. Contact Paul to discuss storage options. Students are responsible for returning all Harvard-owned furniture to their suites at the end of the year.
  2. Where can I get a missing piece of furniture? Contact the Building Manager to replace furniture that was not in your suite at move-in.
 

Suite Inspections

  1. There was a problem with my room when I moved in, and I don't want to get term-billed for it. How do I report this? At the beginning of the term, you should inspect your suite and note the actual condition of the room. It is your responsibility to email the Building Manager by registration if you notice any damage, as you will be responsible for all subsequent damage assessments.
  2. Does Harvard inspect my room during the year? Suites will be inspected periodically during the year and at the end of the academic year. The purpose for inspections is to make sure all rooms comply with safety regulations, to check for needed repairs and that the guidelines noted in this booklet are followed. Inspections during the academic year will be conducted with proper notice if at all possible. Students who violate the facility policy are subject to fines and disciplinary action.