Pre-Assigned Upperclass Housing Would Be a Step Back

Many of the appeals in Justin Osofsky's piece ("Learning to Love the Quad," Opinion, 9/24/96) are on target; however, as a first-year, I must take issue with one of his points.

While the Harvard randomized housing system may have its short-comings, it would be a step in the wrong direction to assign upper-class living quarters before the first year. The one great thing about the Harvard system is that students can choose with whom they will live.

One of the few comforting thoughts for Osofsky and others who get unwillingly "quadded" every year is that at least they will be able to live with their friends. It may sound simple to "meet a lot of future house-mates" the first year, but, in reality, true friendships at Harvard are not the kind based on things in common so foreign and distant as living in the same future house. --Aaron R. Cohen'00