HOUSE AND DORMITORY

The writer of the letter concerning the disposition of the Gold Coast dormitories which is printed in this morning's CRIMSON, has raised a question which has occupied the minds of many undergraduates. The general impression is that the ultimate fate of these dormitories has been definitely settled. This is not the case. A new experiment involving so many elements and with such wide ramifications as the Harvard House Plan cannot be definitely outlined at the very outset, and the eventual disposition of the Gold Coast dormitories remains as yet undetermined.

Nor has any definite plan for the use of the dormitories in the Yard been decided upon. It has been suggested, however, that those dormitories will be used by members of the Freshman class, prior to their entering into one of the Houses. It was pointed out in the CRIMSON during the discussion last year that such an arrangement would seem to be not only practicable in relation to the mechanics of the House Plan but would be most advantageous from the point of view of the Freshmen. If tradition, associations and atmosphere can have any hold upon the undergraduate, there should be no better time than at the beginning of the college career to expose him to their influence. Certainly there seems to be no reason for keeping him carefully isolated from what has always been considered the essence of Harvard until his last year of residence.

There should not be any great cause for regret in such a change, inasmuch as the practice of Seniors living in the Yard is of comparatively recent origin and not a custom hoary with age as is generally supposed. Traditions become weighted with seeming importance through their long continuance, but they should not be allowed to interfere with real progress. It would be absolutely incompatible with the purpose and spirit of the House Plan to expect Seniors who had previously spent two years in one of the Houses to break the associations formed during this time and herd together in the Yard during their last year.