The Dudley House Quandary

"Exposure to the rest of the students is an integral part of the Harvard experience; and this comes through living and learning with each other....Sadly, this aspect of Harvard is denied to the transfer student." --Fereed Mangalji '84

When Fereed Mangalji '84 decided to transfer to Harvard from Rice University in Houston last spring, he knew he would not be spending his junior year, in a dorm. Transfer students, the University informed him, were required to live off-campus initially, but could gradually work their way up the priority list and eventually transfer into a House.

This fall, however, Mangalji and the roughly 210 other transfer students at Harvard received a cruel surprise. When they returned to Cambridge--or in the case of 52, arrived for the first time--they discovered that their names had been completely removed from the "space available" priority list and that they would probably never receive on-campus housing. Saying they felt "gypped," the students began clamoring for a change.

These students are not the only ones who feel left out in the cold by recent housing policy changes--and they are not the only ones who have begun to protest. In fact, the ideas that are currently being floated in University Hall to better integrate off-campus residents into the Harvard community may be as much a result of the policy changes made during the last six months as to longwithstanding problems with off-campus living.

Currently, about 430 students--roughly seven percent of the student body--live in apartments or Harvard-owned housing off-campus 90 of these students--those who moved off-campus senior year--remain affiliated with their original Houses, and are for the most part happy with their move. The 340 students affiliated with Dudley House, however, include many transfer students and students from the local area who have been forced to live off-campus as a condition of matriculation.

For years, many of these students have been upset about their living arrangements, and a few have gone so far as to claim that they are Harvard's second class citizens. Many have complained about the logistics of carrying and storing all of their books during the day, while some cited security problems created by the escort service's policy of not taking students to off-campus locations. Most importantly, however, many feel they are missing one of the most important aspects of a Harvard education--interaction with an interesting and eclectic group of peers.

"Those who choose to live off-campus take university life with them. They live on-campus spiritually, even if not physically," says John R. Marquand, senior tutor of Dudley House. "They are still living the 'Harvard experience,' whereas it is harder for people who have never lived on campus like transfer students and (commuting) freshmen."

In the past, however, most off-campus students accepted their situation as fate, and took little action to change it. All that changed when the University announced a policy decision last spring.

John B. Fox '57, dean of the College, and Henry Rosovsky, dean of the Faculty, proposed making a conscious effort to expand the non-resident community at Harvard. Not only would this improve Harvard's interaction with the local community, it would, as assistant dean of the College Marlyn M. Lewis '70 noted, make "economic" sense as well: "We feel under-utilized in the class-rooms and in the library, but have no bed space left."

In an attempt to carry out this decision, the University made two policy changes: the admissions office admitted more students under "freshman commuter" status--they could enroll only if they agreed to live off-campus--and transfer students were taken off the priority list.

Numerically, these decisions had some impact Twenty-one freshmen commuters enrolled--15 more than in 1981. In addition, 52 of the 60 transfer students who were admitted matriculated, making the total number 17 more than in 1981.

Symbolically, the two decisions had a greater impact, serving as a catalyst which spurred many disgruntled students to action.

Last week, a number of freshmen commuters sent a letter to the administration claiming that the offer of "commuter status" had been ambiguous and contending that living off-campus had put them at an educational disadvantage with respect to their on-campus peers. "I miss the education of learning to live with other people," explains John Avery '86 who lives at home in nearby Belmont.

In addition, many transfer students have recently voiced their concerns. "It wasn't really made clear when we were admitted that we would never have housing," says transfer student Paul D. Palmer '84. He and several other recent transfers, who say they feel similarly "deluded," decided to run for Dudley House Undergraduate Council representative on a platform that contained one major plank: Transfer students should be guaranteed housing. They received wide support and four were eventually elected. Dudley House has only five representatives in all.

This week, those four representatives sent a letter to University Hall petitioning for a guarantee of housing to transfer students, if the College does not fulfill the request, the letter states, it should at least provide resident House affiliation for transfer students, have Harvard Real Estate set aside a section of Peabody Terrace or the Soldiers Field apartments specifically for them, offer extra financial aid to the students to compensate for higher living costs, and improve security escort service between campus and off-campus rooms.

Harvard has not yet responded to this offer, but throughout the University officials are discussing what to do next. Fox contends that "The number of residents should not control the size of the College," but others are not sure current policies are the best solution. "It is unclear in my mind whether the way to build a larger non-resident community is through forced commuters," says Thomas A. Dingman '67, assistant dean of housing.

Judith Kates, director of the Office of Special Programs and a counsellor for transfer students, agrees. It is particularly difficult for them to accustom themselves to a "new set of academic standards" at the same time they are trying to break into already-established "systems of friendship," she says. Nevertheless, Kates emphasized that transfer students are usually older and have already handled moving away from home before.

Rosovsky also voices mixed feelings about last spring's policy change "It seemed that it would be a good thing for them [the students] and for us [the College]," he says, but adds that administrators must continue to explore whether these students can receive a "satisfactory education" here.

"I'm not convinced of at yet "Rosovsky says. "I'd really like to see them looked at closely."

Whatever decision is eventually made, there are two things on which almost everyone agrees. First, if the University continues to force students to live off-campus, it must do a better job of integrating them into normal University life. Second, as one senior tutor commenting on the expansion of the non-resident community observes. "I think in the long run it's going to be a good thing for Harvard. When students who live in Houses have contact with those who don't, it makes for a much richer life for everyone."