"[The person] took the bolt out of the wall, put the TV in a box and carried it out," said Buzney, noting that the bolt had been pulled out of the wall and the box the TV came in was gone.

The common room is in the basement of Greenough. Card keys are required to get into the dorm, and again to gain access to the hallways, but a second card swipe is not required to get into the basement.

The TV in the common room can actually be seen from Prescott St. when the shades are up.

"I was really surprised...[and] pissed off," said Phillip A. Goff '99, who said he often played his videotapes in the common room. "We were talking about getting cable, but now it's pretty much out of the question."

"The common room is kind of bare without something to do down there," said Kit C. Cavender '99.

But David Fithian, assistant dean of freshmen, said the Freshman Dean's Office (FDO) plans to replace the TV and VCR, "but only after we have exhausted all attempts to recover what was there."

"Students have informed me of the consequences of missing 'ER,' and I'm fast at work on accommodations for them," Fithian said.

Fithian said the Harvard police is actively looking into the case, but declined to comment if they have any leads.

Harvard University Police Department Lt. John F. Rooney did not return calls from The Crimson yesterday.

Fithian said the FDO plans to better secure all new and existing equipment in the common rooms of first-year dorms.

And he sent a letter to all Greenough residents on Monday reminding them of basic security precautions such as locking the room doors, not letting strangers into the building without Harvard ID and reporting unusual activity to the proctors or the police.

"It upsets me that someone would do that," Stacia L. Reidy '99 said. She said she was taking more precautions as a result of the theft.

Cooper also said he was taking more precautions. "I don't let people into the building," he said.

"To know that the dorm isn't safe is the worst part of it," Branstetter said