SCHOLARS AND DOLLARS

To the Editors of the Harvard CRIMSON:

My wife, two children, and I live in the Harvard housing development known as Shaler Lane. We have just received notice that rents are being raised to about $84.00 per month. Our heating bill averages $20.00 per month. Thus the cost of having a place to live is over $100.00 per month. I find it incredible that a university of the stature of Harvard should not only not subsidize housing for its students in general, and its married students in particular, but that it should charge rents beyond the capacity of many students. Surely Harvard does not assume that everyone seeking an education here has parents or relatives willing or able to aid in their support? I hope I represent a small minority when I state that the condition of my attending school is not only that my wife must engage in full-time work and my children be denied a normal home environment, but also that as a student I must devote 60-70 hours a week to non-academic pursuits in order to continue my education.

I recently had occasion to go to the Harvard loan office to inquire about the possibility and conditions of receiving a loan. The secretary informed me in a haughty manner that I (and presumably everyone else) should not attend Harvard if my financial resources are inadequate. I hope this attitude is not representative of the university as a whole.

Surely it is not too much to ask that one be permitted to devote his time and energy to his studies without having his efforts vitiated by financial insecurity. Mllton Soldz