Rotating Freshmen

The following is an open letter to the Committee on Housing and Undergraduate Life and The Crimson:

We, as representatives of the Lowell House Committee, would like to express our dismay with the present non-rotational system of assigning freshmen to upperclass dining halls on the weekends.

Although we applaud the theory that freshmen will become involved with House life more easily under the new policy, we doubt its practical validity. Lowell House Committee has made an effort to welcome its affiliated freshmen, yet the results have not been impressive. Moreover, it is difficult to extend as full a welcome as we would like to freshmen when we are just at the stage of getting to know the sophomores at Lowell.

The real issue, however, is the effect of this new policy on the freshman class. We feel that freshmen receive the most valid perspective on University life by being exposed to as many upperclass houses as possible, and that this exposure is best availed by rotating assignments for weekend meals. All of us were freshmen under this previous policy, and feel that it was an invaluable aid for choosing housing in the spring and for learning more about University life in general.

It would not be difficult to reinstitute rotational assignment. We urge CHUL to reconsider its policy today, and to implement former weekend meal plans, whereby freshmen rotate from House to House on a monthly basis. We feel that such a change would greatly benefit all Harvard undergraduates. Lorrie Goldin '77   Secretary, Lowell House Committee   James Berkman   Chairman, Lowell House Committee