Carpets and Cable

Overcrowding in Harvard’s Houses has been an issue for years, and it is heartening to see Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) administrators taking decisive action to free more space for students. The decision to allot two more floors in the DeWolfe Street apartment complex to undergraduates should significantly alleviate overcrowding in the upperclass dormitories.

DeWolfe currently accommodates overflow housing from several of the river Houses. Its central location between Quincy and Leverett Houses and its proximity to the Yard make it a much-coveted living space for undergraduates. Though DeWolfe may not have the same sense of community as, say, Pforzheimer, it offers a different sort of housing option—complete with carpets and cable—that many find preferable.

Next year, one floor of DeWolfe will remain Faculty housing. This makes sense in the short term, as the College tries to avoid disrupting large numbers of Faculty at once, but over the next few years DeWolfe should become a uniformly undergraduate dormitory.

That being said, we sincerely hope that the displaced Faculty will be able to find other appropriate and affordable housing options. FAS should facilitate their move from DeWolfe, whether it is to other University-owned buildings or to private housing. There appears to be little resentment towards FAS for its decision among the displaced DeWolfe Faculty, possibly due to the College’s foresight in informing them earlier this year that they would need to move.

The decision to expand student housing in DeWolfe was a logical response to undergraduates’ needs. Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 has said that administrators are also intending to renovate Pforzheimer House’s Wolbach and Jordan buildings by next year, in an attempt to create a more livable environment. Short of building a 13th House, these moves are the best way to revitalize and expand housing options for students.

President Lawrence H. Summers has continually stressed that his foremost priority is improving the College, and increasing student space in DeWolfe is a small but important step in the right direction.