Party Like It's 1:59 a.m.

In one more step toward extending party hours to 2 a.m., the Committee on House Life (CHL) revised a new party application form yesterday and will send it on to Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 for approval.

The committee also agreed to form a subcommittee to investigate increasing blocking group size at its meeting yesterday morning.

Although the blocking groups proposal is not on the table for the Class of 2007, Undergraduate Council President Matthew W. Mahan ’05 said that he expected that a trial period of extended party hours could begin in as few as two weeks.

The CHL—which includes Gross and other College administrators, the House Masters, and student representatives— reviewed a two-page draft of the application form yesterday.

“The committee agreed to give Dean Gross the power to approve the form without seeing it again,” said Mahan, who said he expected Gross would approve the change.

Gross could not be reached for comment yesterday night.

Mahan said that the Masters made minor linguistic changes to the form and also suggested that the application should focus more on raising awareness of excessive drinking.

“Many of the Masters felt that there should be an extended section on ways to notice when someone has had too much to drink and then how to deal with alcohol sickness,” he said.

A CHL subcommittee will reconvene to incorporate the suggestions into a final draft of the party form.

Adams House Co-Master Sean G. Palfrey wrote in an e-mail that the 2 a.m. deadline would certainly be tested out this spring, although he added that in addition to finishing the form, the CHL would need to resolve security issues including extending night guards’ hours.

“Word-smithing needs to be done... before it can be rolled out,” Palfrey wrote. “We’re close, but we’re not there yet.”

The universal party form, which would replace individual House forms, is aimed at making the process of hosting a party less cumbersome by creating a simpler, more easily accessible form.

The revised form would require party hosts to pen a “commitment signature” obligating them to keep noise to a minimum, especially to ensure that students exiting Quad parties do not disturb the residents on Garden Street.

Later in the meeting, Mahan suggested increasing the number of blockmates within a single group from eight to 12 students, as well as aligning blocking groups into geographical districts.

“The alternative I presented today would essentially divide the Houses into four regions, one for the Quad Houses and three for the River Houses,” Mahan said. “That way, we don’t end up with two close blocking groups getting placed on opposite sides of the campus.”

Mahan said he told the Masters that the increased number of students opting to spend a semester abroad has created difficulties in rooming arrangements.

“The issue of friends being far away is always going to be there, but we can’t change the fact that study abroad rates have been going up in recent years,” he said.

Mahan said he also thought a larger blocking group size might decrease the number of inter-House transfers and would also give students greater leeway to choose quads or triples within their blocking group.

He said he thought the Masters expressed interest in exploring the proposal.

“Many of the Masters nodded their heads and agreed that at least this is something to look at,” Mahan said.

Though Palfrey said the Masters have agreed to organize a subcommittee to raise questions and concerns regarding blocking group size, the upcoming discussion will not affect the House lottery process for the class of 2007.

Former Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 decreased blocking size from 16 students to eight students in 1999.

—Staff writer Elena P. Sorokin can be reached at sorokin@fas.harvard.edu.