When students returned from the holiday break to Quincy House this week, they found their dining hall redecorated.

Yellow construction tape and bright orange "tote a horses" blocked an approximately six-foot long crack which appeared in one of the dining hall's floor to ceiling plate-glass windows.

The window had cracked in a number of places, letting cold air into the room.

Although most students did not know why the area was cordoned off, many thought the dining hall had become especially cold over the vacation.

"Its sub-arctic in here," said Debra L. Shulman '97. "Yesterday I was shivering at dinner."

Tommy B. Mercier, production manager at the Quincy House Dining Hall, said he thought that the crack was probably caused by freezing temperatures.

"I think [the window] just cracked all the way up," Mercier said. He cited a similar incident two years ago in Quincy House Dining Hall, in which a window with a small hole in it cracked because of the cold.

Unofficial estimates for the cost of repairing the window were as high as $6,000, according to some dining hall workers.

Mercier said that a maintenance person was scheduled to come in yesterday to begin work on replacing the glass.

"They want to try and get it fixed as soon as possible," he said.

Most students were unaware of the crack, saying they were unsure of the reason for the cordoned off area.

"I remember looking over [at the corner] and being very confused," Shulman said.

"They just roped [the corner] off and no one knew why," said Bob J. Kim '97, a Quincy House Resident.

Some students barely noticed the cold temperatures, saying that the dining hall had always been cold because of its many windows.

"It's always somewhat cold in here," Kim said.

Richard Y. Chung '96 said the dining room is usually cold because the glass was "only single-paned."