A Pressing Need For Change

In the four years since Harvard and Radcliffe sanctioned coeducational living, it has become increasingly clear that major realignments of the undergraduate housing system are necessary.

Now, at last, the sometimes bitter discussions among deans and students are reaching the point where some very serious decisions about what changes to institute will undoubtedly be made before next fall.

The proposal that has drawn the most attention calls for the housing of freshmen in the Quad, sophomores in the Yard and upperclassmen in the River Houses. Two weeks ago, an Overseers' Visiting Committee responded favorably to a discussion of the educational potential of this alternative by Dean K. Whitla, director of the Office of Instructional Research and Evaluation. The committee decided to bring the proposal up at the next Overseers meeting in May.

Last week, an alumni future committee discussed the housing alternatives and this week the Radcliffe Trustees Futures Committee will undoubtedly touch on the subject. Even the Harvard Corporation is expected to begin its debates on what to do about housing by the end of this academic year.

But the proposal to put freshmen in the Quad faces stiff opposition from a large and vocal group of students from the Quad Houses (who cite the value of four-class living) and many Radcliffe administrators not as sold on Harvard's "class-unity" line.

Whatever the eventual solution to the problems of where to house undergraduates, however, it is equally clear that the physical plants of most Houses, especially in the Quad, are in need of a healthy sum of money for renovation.