Princeton Group Reports Student Housing Needed

A joint administration-trustee committee at Princeton has recommended that the university build new dormitories along the lines of the Harvard House system, rather than on the traditional residence hall-eating club pattern.

The committee has just completed a nine-month study of campus housing needs, and has recommended the immediate construction of dormitory accommodations for a minimum of 300 students.

Most significantly, however, the committee has also recommended that eating, social, and recreational facilities be provided in any new houses which are built. This would be a step away from the present system.

But Harold M. Dodds, president of Princeton, emphasized that the step involves no radical change. "In arriving at these conclusions," he said, "the committee states explicitly that plans for dormitories containing dining and social facilities for men in clubs, and living quarters for both club members and nonclub members do not mean a radical change-over in the total campus pattern.

"Nor do they indicate dissatisfaction with the existing structure of residential dormitories supplemented by upperclass eating clubs," he continued. "This structure has served Princeton well during many decades and it can continue to contribute to close-knit campus life."

At present, living facilities on the Princeton campus are separate from the underclass dining halls and the 17 independent upperclass eating clubs.

"Since the university is committed to providing, on a permanent basis, social and dining facilities for upperclassmen not in clubs, this need must be taken into account in planning," Dodds said. "Although the combination of dormitories and clubs has in past years largely met the needs of upperclass students, an alternative pattern of dining and social accommodations is now desirable, even though the number of those who select this pattern may not be large in relationship to the total undergraduate body."