Four Dartmouth students have paid Harvard $2004 to cover the cost of removing the green paint they sprayed on the John Harvard statue two weeks ago.

The students, who staged the prank the night before the Harvard-Dartmouth football game, also sent a letter of apology to Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III.

Harvard has not yet decided whether to prosecute the students for the vandalism, Epps said.

The students paid for the damages after Epps sent them an itemized bill, which included the cost of labor, equipment, and materials.

They were also required to appear before Dartmouth's Committee on Standards, a disciplinary council comparable to Harvard's Administrative Board, said Alvin J. Richard, associate dean of Dartmouth College. He declined to comment, however, on action being taken against the students.

The four students, accompanied by a friend of theirs from Boston University, were caught on October 18 by Harvard police after painting the statue and three other nearby campus locations.

"They were found with green point on their hands and they readily admitted what they did," said Harvard Police Chief Paul E. Johnson.

The Boston University student was not asked to pay for the damages because he was not involved in the prank, said one of the Darmouth students who asked not to be identified.

Harvard police will be doubling security in the Yard every weekend for the rest of the football season