An orange card taped above the lock on the door of 76 Mt. Auburn St. is the latest example of recent tensions between undergraduate and graduate members of Harvard's all-male final clubs.

The handwritten notice at the Spee Club reads "Clubhouse Closed (Locks Changed)."

At the end of last week, Spee undergraduate members received an e-mail message informing them that the graduate board does not want any students--including them--to enter the club for the time being.

According to a current Spee member, the graduates took the action to reinforce a no-guest policy implemented April 8.

"Basically, we have a rule, a no-guest policy," he said. "The graduates caught some of the seniors violating the rules pretty badly."

As alumni are returning to campus for reunions and their children's graduations, "you've got a lot of grads who want to come over, and they don't want the club to be trashed," the member said.

The club's closing effectively keeps students outside the building for the rest of Senior Week except for a graduate reception and senior brunch, which are still scheduled to go on as planned.

The card on the door says the Spee remains open to graduates during the club steward's hours, Monday through Thursday.

The member said he believes the graduates will reverse the policy after Commencement.

"They're sort of like 'That's it for this year,'" he said. "But everything is going to be normal in a week."

Spee Graduate Board President Frederick C. Childs '79 declined to comment on the closing.

John W. Sears '52, a former Spee trustee, said the graduates have not been informed of the change yet.

He said he was unsure of why the graduates would restrict the undergraduates beyond barring guests, but policy violations may have played a role.

"The boys had run a party after the graduates told them not to," Sears said. "If that's [what motivated the closing], I am in [Child's] corner."

Rev. Douglas W. Sears '69, president of the Inter-Club Council (ICC), said he learned of the club's closing last night when he bumped into a graduate board member.