Housing Squeeze

To the Editors of the Crimson:

I nodded knowingly (not to mention sadly but wisely) while reading your October 12th editorial about student housing at Harvard. For almost 1 1/2 years I have been trying to cope with the role most House Secretaries have been hired to play in the lives of undergraduates, and so it is good to hear of an opinion that doesn't reflect a widespread paranoia among students concerning House Secretaries' plots to ruin their lives.

Certain situations you discussed are unique to housing this Fall (such as the large number of returning men and a disproportionate number of leaves) but, whatever the specific cause in a given year, the fact remains that more bodies than beds is the House Secretary's lot just about every Fall.

I feel no embarassment what so ever in confessing that my B.A. in English did absolutely nothing to prepare me for rooming 430 men and women. I personally would heartily welcome whatever "professional assistance" (of a housing nature) offered which would relieve me of the agonizing over sophomore floaters, thesis-writing seniors, and live-off quotas.

While I doubt that any "professional" person could be found willing to tackle a House's rooming problems at a House Secretary's salary. I look forward to the better and more useful days to come, free of migraines and the mumbling of room numbers in my sleep. Frances W. Malkus   Leverett House Secretary