Piledrivers Double As Alarmclocks

Some Harvard Yard dwellers are less than happy with their new alarm clock--a fifty-foot tall piledriver now in use at the One Brattle Square construction site.

South Yard residents said yesterday that noise from the site, where the University is building a hotel, has become increasingly bothersome in recent days. Some students said the piledriving often begins as early as 7 a.m.

Workers said yesterday they are using the massive machine to drive support beams some 30 feet into the ground.

"The piledriver woke me up last Saturday morning, and it didn't stop," said Essence R. McGill '94, who lives in Straus Hall.

But Gene Switzer, who is overseeing this portion of the Brattle Square project, disputed the students' claim that the noise begins as early as 7 a.m.

"Our policy is that we don't drive piles until around 8 a.m.," Switzer said. "We haven't had any unusual complaints here yet," he added.

Switzer said he did not know when the noise would stop.

Despite some students' complaints, Michael N. Lichten, director for physical operations for Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said Harvard usually tries to avoid any undue inconvenience that construction might cause to the community.

"We try to accomodate the students, after all, they're our customers," Lichten said, adding he is not directly involved with the hotel site himself.

UC Candidate's Posters Defy Council Pressures

An Undergraduate Council candidate who reworded his position paper under pressure from the council's executive committee has been postering Winthrop House with copies of the original paper.

Adam E. Webb '93, a one-year council member from Winthrop, wrote in his position paper that he had "worked in successful council activities like the Steven Wright and Ziggy Marley Concerts."

Although Webb voted for both events, council members said he had not been substantially involved in the organization of either. When the executive committee questioned the accuracy of his claims, Webb agreed to substitute "supported" for "worked in."

The posters, however, use the original wording.