Harvard Student Agencies (HSA) is missing about 200 refrigerators--roughly one-third of its total inventory--and officials of the agency are unsure whether thefts, bookkeeping errors, or a combination of the two are to blame.

A Problem of Paperwork

Sources close to HSA reported yesterday that some refrigerators may have been stolen from the agency's warehouse on Western Avenue near the Business School, but Stephen E. Pollack '77, president of HSA, said yesterday he believes the problem is one of "paperwork."

"They're not lost," Pollack said. "We just don't have as firm a grasp of them as we should."

Room-by-Room Search

One HSA official said last week that the refrigerator agency's bookkeeping methods had been "grossly incompetent."

HSA employees initiated a room-by-room search in several Houses and Yard dormitories last Wednesday, sparking protests by several students and administrators. At Currier House the senior adviser ordered HSA to suspend its search after two students complained that their own refrigerators--which HSA never owned--had been tagged with notices threatening repossession.

Barbara G. Rosenkrantz '44, master of Currier House, said last night she had complained about the search on Wednesday to Francis E. Lawton, assistant dean for resources, planning and facilities, and had raised the issue at a masters' meeting.

The tagging of privately owned refrigerators was only part of the problem, Rosenkrantz said. "I'm much more concerned about their entering students' rooms when they're not there, in direct violation of House policy," she said.

HSA obtained permission from Lawton for the search and its searchers were accompanied at all times by Buildings and Grounds employees.

"We certainly didn't do it underhandedly," Pollack said last night.

Daniel Steiner '54, general counsel to the University, when questioned on Wednesday about the legality of the search, said he could not comment until after the holiday weekend.

The manager of the refrigerator agency, Clarence Martin '77-3, could not be reached for comment yesterday, but a source close to the agency said that HSA's search had discovered "nowhere near 200" refrigerators.

Pollack said that HSA officials first discovered the gap in their inventory several weeks ago when they counted only 400 order cards on file after the agency completed its fall deliveries. Officials thought the agency owned 600 refrigerators.

Pollack said that the most recent inventory was conducted last spring.