Masters Vote Down 'Cliffe Inter-House

The Faculty Committee on the Houses has once again turned down a proposal to allow Radcliffe dates of Harvard undergraduates to eat free meals in Harvard Houses on date nights. The Masters defeated a similar proposal of the Harvard Council on Undergraduate Affairs a year and a half ago.

Despite a strong recommendation from the HCUA in favor of the proposal and an assurance from Arthur D. Trottenerg '48, assistant dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, that the plan was feasible from an administrative standpoint, the Masters decided not to permit even a two-month trial period next fall.

"The point was whether we wanted to enlarge Radcliffe inter-House, and we agreed that the side against doing so was the stronger one," one Master said last night. He said the decision represented "a fairly settled policy."

Little Heat

He noted there had not been complete agreement among the Masters on the matter, but observed that the issue had not appeared to be one of crucial importance and that "little heat was generated over it."

If approved the proposal would also have allowed Harvard men the same inter-House privilige as dates of Cliffies at Radcliffe. But at both colleges, the procedure would still have been restricted to the present date nights.

The Masters, however, reportedly thought that the change would have been a significant step toward coeducation--a step they have been notably unwilling to take. If they had permitted an experiment in this direction, they felt they would not have been able to withdraw, and that the next step would have been complete Radcliffe inter-house.

Overcrowding Feared

Dining hall officials raised a further objection over possible overcrowding on popular date nights. Representatives from both dining services told the Masters that crowds might be unmanageable on weekends.

In rejecting the proposal, most Masters drew a distinction between the purely social ends of this proposal and the the educational aspects of the arrangement which presently allows members of either college to attend language tables and other functions at the other college without charge.

H. Reed Ellis, chairman of the HCUA, said last night he was "extremely disappointed" at the Masters' action, but that he still hoped to reach some accord on the Council's proposal over the summer.