Hollis Hall proctor Wendy M. Pizarro agrees that there can be too much education on security. "You want to strike a fine balance between promoting personal safety and also enjoying the people who live here in Cambridge, and not being too paranoid about one another," she said.

"We have a proctor meeting [about security measures]--I think that's enough," said one first-year resident of Holworthy who declined to give his name. "I think it wastes too much time."

Even so, the first-year student said he felt the need for increased sensitivity among police officers: "I went to the Quad and I got lost and asked the police for directions, and they didn't seem helpful."

Mather House Senior Tutor Mary K. Peckham said she has been approached by students who have had complaints about police responsiveness--on incidents more serious than just lock-outs.

"I know some students in Mather who have had some concerns about some of their contact with the police," Peckham said, "and I know the police are concerned about students taking security issues seriously. So I'm sure in the right forum there could be a lot to discuss."

Despite the department's obvious attempt to improve police relations, some students say they are still concerned about racial issues.

George C. Fatheree '97 says that he is unconvinced that liaisons will make much of a difference in resolving what he and other Black students say is one of Harvard's biggest problems with racial discrimination. Black students are singled out by police officers and constantly asked for identification, he says.

"If having liaisons is going to facilitate the Harvard Police in treating students the same, regardless of their color, yes, it's a right direction," he said. "But I'm not sure that that result will come from those means."

Fatheree doesn't blame the police for all the occasions that they stop Black students. "A lot of times, when police respond to complaints, it's complaints [that] students make when they think they're in danger, just because [other students] are Black," he said. "The police have to do their job, which is to respond."

The police stopped Fatheree for identification on two separate occasions last year, he said. So far this year, he hasn't been stopped.

Fatheree says he is not overly optimistic about the chances of liaisons improving relations between Harvard's Black students and the police.

"The only thing is that is going to solve the problem, as far as Blacks are concerned, is treating Black and white students the same," Fatheree said.