Report on Houses Gains Masters' Partial Backing

Five of the seven Masters yesterday voiced qualified approval for the Over-seers' Report recommending an eighth House without the traditional Georgian design and private baths, but they disagreed with a proposal to permit seniors to live out if they and their parents wished.

Two of the Masters could not be reached for comment.

The Masters' chief reservation concerned the possibility of eliminating entries and replacing them with long corridors in the new House. The Overseers' Report had specifically termed corridors an "uncivilizing influence," but had still opposed entries as uneconomical.

Elliott Perkins '23, Master of Lowell, expressed one typical fear when he said, "Anything that can be thrown the length of a corridor, is. They are ideal for field hockey and football."

There was general agreement that characteristics of the older Houses could not be duplicated by the new one. Leigh Hoadley, Master of Leverett, said, "I don't think we can possibly go to the expense involved."

Prospects in Modern Designs

Perkins, however, while conceding that private bathrooms would have to be sacrificed, was uncertain about other cost aspects. "I would like to see," he said, "the figures to prove that when all is told this modernistic architecture is considerably cheaper."

Charles L. Taylor, Master of Kirkland, was optimistic about prospects for new construction ideas, saying that a House now "could have many modern advantages that were not conceived" when the Houses were built. He mentioned meeting rooms, tutorial facilities, and grilles.

Ronald M. Ferry '12 was among those opposing any further liberalization of rules preventing students from living out of the Houses. He pointed out that realization of the advantages of the House system often comes very late, and thought that students should stay in the Houses.

Joseph L. Walsh '16, acting Master of Adams, agreed, saying "seniors would lose far more than a year's worth of House life if they lived out in their last year."