Kitchen Curtain Falls on Dudley: Freshmen Barred From Dining Hall

Harvard freshmen are not being allowed to eat at Dudley House--now in newly-renovated Lehman Hall-because House officials don't want Dudley's commuter and extension students to be crowded out of the cafeteria.

Lehman opened Tuesday as a replacement for the old non-resident studying and dining facilities in the Ambassador Hotel. Dudley officials think its location in the southeast corner of the Yard and its varied menu may encourage too many freshman to abandon the bland meals and gloom of the Union.

For this reason, Thomas E. Crooks '49, Master of Dudley House, issued a set of regulations last week limiting the use of the Lehman-Dudley dining hall to Dudley House members and guests, Radcliffe students, Harvard upperclassmen, extension students and Corporation appointees.

Irregular Snacks

University sources said yesterday that F. Skiddy von Stade Jr. '38, Dean of Freshmen, was concerned that the freshmen would have no place to go for coffee with section-men or for other irregular snacks, if Crooks' ban took effect.

In an interview yesterday afternoon, von Stade said final resolution of the question will have to wait until he meets with Crooks next week, after the problems generally accompanying the opening of a new building have quieted down.

Last term, while Dudley was still housed at the Ambassador, freshmen had the same eating privileges as other undergraduates.

I.D. Cards

Now, all prospective eaters must show identification cards at Dudley's door--and freshmen are turned away.

Even without freshmen, the new cafeteria has been overcrowded at lunchtime since it opened for business Wednesday. According to sources in the Master's office, a more pressing problem might arise around 9 p.m. every night if freshman were permitted to "drop in" for a snack just when extension students were leaving.