WHO EVIL THINKS

Now that President Conant has returned from his European tour he must give attention to the white rabbit that was pulled out of his hat during his absence. Undergraduate dissatisfaction with his "double or nothing" rule concerning the entertainment of women in the Houses has been expressed loudly many times during the past month, and with the cooperation of President Conant and the Masters a solution to the problem can doubtlessly be achieved.

From the moment the new regulation was published at the opening of the term opposition to it appeared from every quarter. A petition circulated throughout the Houses was signed by 878 undergraduates, and any one familiar with the boredom with which petitions have heretofore been greeted at Harvard realizes the unanimity of student opinion expressed.

A number of House Masters, who after all are more closely concerned with the problem of parietal rules than any one else, have let it be known they consider the new law unnecessary and ridiculous. A sensible viewpoint was expressed by Professor Murdock of Leverett House who, in a talk on October fifth, admitted that rule would prove unworkable. He showed the casual attitude with which the Masters had approached the problem when he said that the present rule had been accepted "because it seems less absurd than any other rule that has been suggested."

Acting as official spokesman for the student body, last Wednesday evening the Student Council passed a resolution in favor of repeal, and asked for a standardization and revision of the old law. This step, timed to greet Mr. Conant upon his return, completes the picture of undergraduate opposition. The Student Council did not flare up in anger. Its decision was based upon a serious weighing of the problem and an observation of the new rule in use during the past month.

The case against the new rule has not changed since its inception. It is an example of intolerance on the part of University Hall toward the social life of the students. Judged by the evidence of the years since the beginning of the House plan, the accusation of immorality is completely without foundation. Whatever scandals have occurred have not in any case been caused by "one-couple" parties. It is unfair to inconvenience the majority of students because a small minority has been indiscreet. The whole movement bears the stamp of "Watch-and Ward" and is not in keeping with Harvard customs which have always presupposed a mature and responsible student body.

A return to the old rule is not desirable. As the Student Council stated, it should be revised and standardized. The lack of system in previous years was without doubt a contributory factor in the demand for stricter regulations. A plan that would be convenient and at the same time effective, like the Oxford card system, would meet with general approval. It is clear that some change is called for, and in formulating the new plan President Conant and the Masters would do well to take into their confidence a delegation from the student body which has every desire to smooth out the present difficulties.