Possible Fee Faces Men Off Campus

The Subcommittee on Mather House is seriously considering recommending that students who live off-campus be charged for the facilities they use in the Houses, Richard T. Gill '48, Master of Leverett House and chairman of the subcommittee, said yesterday.

Gill said the charge--which would cover part of the costs of operating the House offices, supplying tutors with suites, and maintaining libraries and recreational facilities--"might be substantial." Under the present system "students who live in the House pay for all these things even though off-campus students use them," Gill explained.

He added that the financial aid office would raise scholarships to compensate for the proposed charges, if the Committee on Houses approves the plan.

Off-Campus Threat?

Asked if he thought the charge would make off-campus living prohibitive, Gill said, "It's hard to predict what's going to happen if the ground-rules are changed. We're looking most of all for a fair and flexible system."

The subcommittee--which consists of Masters, Deans, and students--probably will also suggest that Mather House be used to deconvert existing House suites to provide each junior and senior with his own bedroom, Gill said.

He added that the opening of Mather House, scheduled for September, 1969, will not cause a significant rise in the number of Harvard undergraduates.

At its final full meeting yesterday the subcommittee considered the findings of a Harvard Policy Committee-Harvard Undergraduate Council poll of Claverly and off-campus students and an independent poll of students residing in the cooperative dormitories.

Off-Campus Preferred

The polls--which drew responses from about 60 per cent of the students questioned--revealed that the overwhelming majority of students who do not reside in the Houses are satisfied with their living arrangements.

Forty-five of the 96 off-campus students who answered the poll said they would not return to the Houses unless unlimited parietals were established. Thirty said they would return only if they were not charged for meals they did not eat in the dining halls.

The Faculty members of the subcommittee--Arthur D. Trottenberg '48 assistant dean of the Faculty; Robert B. Watson '37, dean of students; F. Skiddy von Stade Jr. '38, dean of freshmen; and Masters Charles W. Dunn and Zeph Stewart--will meet soon to draft formal proposals. They plan to present their final recommendations to the Committee on Houses next Wednesday