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From blocking hallways to chipping historic stone staircases, scooters are posing challenges in the newly renovated Adams House.
Adams, one of Harvard’s oldest undergraduate Houses, reopened this fall after more than six years of renovations. The restoration preserved original details like its stone flooring and staircases — features that administrators said are now showing signs of wear.
During an introductory meeting at the start of the semester, Adams House Faculty Deans Mercedes C. Becerra ’91and Salmaan A. Keshavjee told students that scooters had already chipped stone stairs throughout the house. Stairs at the main entrance of Randolph Hall have 13 small chips, while the stairs in the Claverly Pool Room are marred by two 2-inch long chips.
Becerra and Keshavjee said in a statement that scooters are damaging Adams’ stone flooring, which makes up hallways and staircases throughout the House.
“Already we are seeing that stairs in various parts of the House — some of which have survived decades of use — are now broken or chipped,” the deans said in a statement.
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But this isn’t the only problem that scooters pose. The deans added that they are worried about scooters left in common areas, which they said create accessibility barriers for students with mobility challenges.
“Scooters that block hallways and stairways not only constitute a hazard, but they make it difficult for students in wheelchairs or those facing other mobility challenges to access House spaces,” they said in the statement.
The statement, shared by College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo, was accompanied by photos and videos of scooters piled in the Gold Room and dining hall.
Palumbo pointed to micromobility guidelines in the Harvard College Student Handbook and the University website, which caution that micromobility devices left in hallways or common areas can pose safety hazards and violate University policy.
In line with this policy — and in an effort to protect Adams’ stone floor — administrators have added two new scooter bays to the House.
—Staff writer Bianca G. Ciubancan can be reached at bianca.ciubancan@thecrimson.com.
