Pan says Szekeres spoke of academic difficulties last spring, and eventually told her that she was taking time off because of poor grades.

But friends say that Szekeres certainly didn't have the heart to commit the crime she's being charged with.

Whitten, for one, praises Szekeres' personal qualities.

"She was very conscientious, quiet, thoughtful, hardworking," Whitten says. "She [challenged] herself to do well, in her dance, which was very important to her, as well as in her academics."

According to Whitten, Szekeres inherited a strong sense of personal integrity from her parents.

At a high school which was recognized by New Jersey's governor last year for having the highest SAT scores in the state, Szekeres stood out as a "very good school citizen," Whitten recalls.

In the suburban town with a growing population of about 10,000, the high school has "a lot of good kids" and gets positive results because of "concerned families and what the school system can do," Whitten says.

Looking back on evenings he spent at the Szekeres' home during high school, Freeman also remembers that their family--her mother, father, a sister three years younger and Natalie--seemed fulfilled.

"[Her mother] is a wonderful woman, one of the best friend's mothers I know," he says. "Even if the whole crowd showed up at 11 o'clock at night, she'd get out a bag of popcorn for us."

Freeman says he can't comprehend what could have driven Szekeres to commit a crime.

"If she did do it," he says, "I don't know what kind of pressures were on her, but I really have no idea."

The Questions Facing Harvard

The Szekeres case is just the latest in a string of recent embezzlement allegations at Harvard.

The case occurs just one year after Charles K. Lee '93 and David G. Sword '93 admitted in court that they stole more than $125,000 from An Evening With Champions, an Eliot House ice skating benefit.

It also comes a year after the general manager of the Krokodiloes was forced to resign after he apparently used $3,000 of the group's funds on personal expenses. In addition, last year's president and business manager of the Yearbook were forced to step down because of spending abuses.

And while the outcome of the Szekeres case is out of Harvard's hands, the University must confront how to oversee student-run organizations.

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 acknowledges that if this case falls into the pattern of student embezzlement formed over the last two years, "there may be practical things that can be done to make it harder [to write checks out of organizations' treasuries]."

House committee chairs interviewed say they effectively have free reign over their spending, and are not audited by the University or house masters.

In the meantime, a subcommittee of the College's Committee on House Life is gathering evidence for a general review of house committee policies, according to Cabot House Master Jurij Striedter.

Striedter would not comment on whether any kind of changes to house committee spending policies are in the works