HCUA Seeks House Committee's Opinions On Interhouse Between Harvard, Radcliffe

HCUA is this week seeking the support of the House Committees for house dining on date nights between Harvard and Radcliffe.

We're looking for undergraduate opinion commented HCUA Chairman Cornelius J. Minihan '64. If the majority of Harvard students seem to favor the proposal, he plans to take it before the Masters of the nine Houses.

According to Jon W. Clifton '63, president of Phillips Brooks House Associate this group will send letters to all graduate organizations requesting comments next week.

Strong supporter of interhouse with Radcliffe, Clifton said that since "most think meal time is wasted anyway, it would be a good time to get people together for meetings."

Minihan, who thinks the plan would also save the money of Harvard men who date at Radcliffe, said he has been assured of support by officials of both colleges. Interhouse with Radcliffe was tried for the first time last year, he noted, and now exists in some Houses.

The HCUA will discuss reactions from the House Committees at a meeting Monday. "If there seems to be no definite strain of opinion," said Minihan, "we might poll the College on it."

Although most of the House Committees have yet to meet, the interhouse proposal was turned down by a 6-4 vote of the Dunster House Committee Wednesday evening.

At dinner there last night, however, a petition asking a referendum on the subject received the required 25 signatures. The Committee meets informally Sunday evening, but will probably wait until a regular meeting Wednesday to organize the referendum.

The interhouse move was first defeated in Dunster amid cries of "creeping mergerism" and the objection that girls in the dining hall would become too common and make eating uncomfortable for House members.

Minihan, also optimistic about reactions from other Houses and from the organizations, commented that the Dunster referendum "may turn out a little differently" from the committee's decision.