AN AID TO FRESHMEN

Now that some solution to the problem of acquainting Freshmen with the Houses is imminent and University Hall has undertaken consideration of the pressing problem, the reiteration of a plan to aid Freshmen is timely, and should merit some attention. The only practical way that Freshmen can learn anything about the Houses is by allowing them to take several meals in the various units throughout the second semester.

Isolated from upperclassmen and segregated in the Yard, first year men have little or no opportunity to know what the Houses are like or what purposes they serve. When in the spring they are requested to indicate a preference concerning the House in which they would like to live, they have no knowledge upon which they can make an intelligent or wise decision. Since it is impossible to change from one unit to another it is imperative for a student to select a House that is compatible to his interests, both social and intellectual.

If the Freshmen were allowed to take fourteen meals in the Houses during the second half year an opportunity would be provided for them to understand better the atmosphere of each unit. This plan would enable every man to visit each House twice. It would not burden the University financially since the cost would be negligible. How the first year students are to have a basis for an intelligent preference if this plan is not adopted, is a question University administrators must consider before discarding it.

The Houses, if they are to develop into something more than more dormitories, must select future residents because they have some definite reason for desiring to live in one House rather than another. The individuality and esprit de corps which to essential to the House Plan can only be fostered in this way. How to acquaint Freshmen in a practical way with the various Houses is a problem that must be solved now before they are asked to file applications for rooms next year. Allowing Freshmen to take meals in the Houses is one way this problem can be solved, and it should merit serious consideration by University Hall.