Housing Committee to Continue Attack on Local Discrimination

All discrimination against foreign and colored University students by local apartment and boarding houses will continue to be attacked by the Cambridge Committee for Democratic Housing, the group decided last night.

The committee, formed last spring by the combined efforts of four local organizations, including Phillips Brooks House reported success in its first four months of operation, and saw no reason to stop working.

Working together with the University Housing Registry, the committee, under the supervision of Mrs. Annette Cottrell, saw to it that suitable rooms were found for every foreign student.

Early in the summer, post cards were sent to the various rooming houses in the area, asking whether the landlord would discriminate against a foreign or colored student. If the answer was yes, the establishment was taken off the Housing Registry's list.

To aid the student in the selection of a room, a volunteer, usually a Cambridge housewife, would escort the student to various houses. Mrs. Cottrell felt this "third man" immeasurably helped the student find a room.

Neal Hastie '52, Graduate Secretary of P.B.H., said the attack on discrimination is two-fronted. Not only is it aimed at the bigoted landlord, but also against a prejudiced student.

The Society for Minority Rights will poll the graduate students next week to find out how many students would not room with a foreign or colored person, Hastie said.

The committee will wait until the poll is complete before recommending a definite plan of action, Hastie said.

The other groups in the committee are the Cambridge Civic Unity Committee; the American Friends Service Committee; the Cambridge churches; and the International Student Center.