Cliffies Use Classrooms in Lamont; Front-Desk Bastion Crumbles, Too

Creeping mergerism of Harvard and Radcliffe has apparently begun to gallop. The sacred doors of Lamont Library have opened--partially, at least--to members of the fair sex.

A shortage in clasroom space this year, a new employment policy, and the closing of the Widener Map Room have brought hordes of Cliffies and Harvard wives into the College's last all-male sanctuary.

Theodore G. Alevizos, librarian of Lamont, said yesterday that the loss of Longfellow Hall for section meetings had caused an unusual number of sections to be moved into Lamont.

Cliffies are restricted to the sixth-level classrooms, and they must use the west (first-level) entrance to Lamont. As a result of a move last year, they may also use the Map Room, now located on the first floor. They have always been admitted to the Document Room in the basement.

Sargent Kenedy '28, registrar, defended the decision yesterday. "It doesn't make a great deal of sense," he said, to continue all-male sections in in Lamont. "After all, this is a joint education."

Women 'More Stable'

Women have also been hired to staff the front desk during the daytime hours, Alevizos said, "because they are more stable on the job" than the former male employees, who were not from Harvard. Most of the new employees are wives of Harvard students.

The tradition of excluding women from the undergraduate men's library is an old one. Until Lamont was built, no woman were allowed in the Widener Reading Room. The new change appears to be a permanent one, despite official claims of an "unlimited trial period."

Cliffies greeted the innovations in Lamont with general delight. While one meek upperclassman admitted that "it's kind of sad to see the last bastion crumble," most sympathized with one militant who said, "This is just the beginning. We will take over."

But Alevizos disagrees. "We do not intend to make Lamont wide open for girls," he insisted.

Some Harvard men were pleased with "a new opportunity to meet Cliffies," but almost all were despondent. One starry-eyed freshman stood in front of the Library and lamented about the four years ahead: "We will have no refuge."