In response to the assault on a female first-year student in Annenberg Hall Tuesday morning, the Freshman Dean's Office (FDO) has decided to bar the Crimson Key Society from bringing tours through the historic dining hall.

According to Dean of Freshman Elizabeth Studley Nathans, access to the balcony above the main dining hall was always technically limited to people with valid Harvard ID cards. However, many Crimson Key tours used the vantage point during non-meal hours.

"That the policy has been imperfectly enforced over the years has always been a source of concern to the FDO and to the dining halls staff," Nathans wrote in an e-mail message.

Nathans told Director of Admissions Marlyn McGrath Lewis via e-mail that Memorial Hall staff are considering installing an ID card reader to ensure that the balcony and tower rooms remain off-limits to non-members of the Harvard community.

Lewis said she supported the decision, predicting that it would be "reassuring to families that we take safety and security seriously."

To augment security, the FDO had requested that the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) increase its presence in the dining hall.

Devon R. Quasha '02, admissions office coordinator for the Crimson Key Society, said yesterday received a forwarded e-mail message from the office and instructed tour guides to remove the Annenberg stop from their tours.

"People are concerned about the student and the assault and being sensitive," Quasha said. "We're not allowed to take people into Widener [Library] either."