President Bok Visits Mather, Discusses Crowding, 'Class Size

President Bok took a break from meetings and bureaucracy yesterday evening, joining about 20 students for a study break in Mather House.

Sipping ginger ale and munching cookies, Bok answered questions about overcrowding in Mather, University divestiture in South Africa, and the size of undergraduate classes.

Host Steven W. Chik '86 said he invited Bok to his Mather suite three months ago "just for the fun of it."

Slumming

Before refreshments were served, Chik and his suitemates gave Bok a brief tour of their living quarters. Chik said Bok was "surprised" to find that 12 people shared one bathroom in the suite.

Bok said later, however, that he hasn't had a chance to study the overcrowding issue. He added that his role is to raise money for needed House renovations.

One student guest was more concerned about overcrowded classes than dorms. Although Bok jokingly suggested that the student "take Sanskrit," he said he thought that large classes could be as rewarding as small ones.

New Ideas

Calling himself and his roommates "a group that likes to invite important people," Chik said that this invitation "was a pretty new idea. Nobody has invited President Bok here before."

Chik added that he has also extended invitations to Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro (D.N.Y.), Vice-President George Bush, and Economics Department Chairman Martin S. Feldstein '61. None of them has accepted so far, Chik said.