Freshman Dormitories to Combine Into Units Under Senior Advisers

A reorganization of freshman dormitories into five units will go into effect next Fall. Each unit, consisting of 2 to 3 halls, will be under the direction of a "resident senior adviser."

The five senior advisers, to be drawn from the GSAS and the Graduate School of Education, will replace the two freshman assistant deans, and will have complete supervision of their 200-250 man units.

Based on Labaree Plan

Based on a proposal submitted last Spring by Benjamin W. Labaree, Senior Tutor of Winthrop House, the plan calls for the replacement of the freshman proctor with the "resident adviser." Beginning next term, the 60 resident advisers will absorb the proctors' functions and advise 600 freshman. At present only 40 proctors are also advisers.

The remaining freshman will have non-resident advisors. Part two of the reorganization invoices the conversion of dorm suites into offices for the non-resident advisers.

"The most exciting part of the plan," according to Dean van Stade, "is the use we're going to make of the offices." The converted suites will also serve as common rooms and as "seminar rooms."

Von State explained that "we will encourage and hopefully pay" the freshman resident and non-resident advisors to hold "Informal discussion groups" which might eventually develop into formal credit seminars. He also saw the possibility of seminar leaders in the freshman program holding their meetings in the units common rooms, and even drawing their members from the unit.

Reorganization to Cost $10,000

A complete reorganization will require finances amounting to about $10,000 in capital and running expenses. The expenditures includes salaries for the five senior advisers, payments to informal seminar-leading advisers, and the expense of converting suites to common rooms and to living quarters for married senior advisers.

The Prescott St. halls already have such living quarters; these quarters and common rooms will be installed this summer in Grays, and next summer in Weld. Suites in the newly-renovated buildings of the Matthews-Straus-Massachusetts and Hollis-Stoughton-Holworthy complexes will be converted to married quarters and common rooms.

Any expenditure of University funds on the reorganization must be approved by the Corporation. However, the plan is being conceived as "a proliferation of the freshman seminar program" and might therefore come under its anonymous grant.