In the article "Curfew Imposed on Lowell House Summer Students" (news story, Aug. 11, 1995), The Crimson erroneously states that this is the first year Lowell has been used to accommodate secondary students. In fact, Lowell was used for secondary school students as recently as 1993, when I served as a proctor for the Summer School.

I also find it intriguing that the Summer School administration has imposed a gag order on proctors to prevent them from discussing the curfew. When I was a proctor, the Summer School frequently attempted to ignore or prevent the discussion of problems affecting students, even to the point of compromising student safety.

On one occasion, after a false fire alarm, students were allowed to return to the building even though the fire alarm system was not reset for more than eight hours. On another, the administration was reluctant to even inform proctors that the Harvard Police has been (erroneously) informed that a convicted rapist was reportedly bound for Harvard to visit a student enrolled in the secondary school program. The Harvard Police went so far as to stake out the room of the student involved, but proctors were forbidden to discuss the problem with students, even to squelch the resulting rumors.

The secondary school students living in Lowell House this summer should be thankful that the most serious danger they have been exposed to--or at least informed of--is excessive trash in the Lowell House courtyard and an unnecessarily harsh response by the Summer School administration. Jol A. Silversmith '94