Representatives from Harvard's insurance office will be meeting with students and their families to determine whether any belongings will need to be replaced.

The Freshman Dean's Office did not respond to requests for comment.

Officials cautioned that yesterday's incident is not indicative of any widespread problem in the Yard dorms.

"This was obviously just one incident in one dorm room," Gavel said. "The most important thing is to determine why and how this happened before anyone decides this a matter of a concern."

Stoughton and Hollis were both renovated in 1994, the work including new ceilings, walls and hardwood floors. But the ceilings in Hollis were finished differently than in Stoughton and thus are not as much a cause of concern, Gavel said.

The current Stoughton Hall is the second building of the same name to occupy the space, and is named after the first graduate to fund a building, William Stoughton, Class of 1650. The college razed the first Stoughton because of damage incurred during the Revolutionary War.